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Choosing  a  Lifework 

By  Lewis  Ransom  Fiske,  LL.D. 

Author  of  "  Echoes  from  College  Platform  " 


New  York:  EATON  &  MAINS* 
Cincinnati :  JENNINGS  &  GRAHAIVL 


Copyright  by 

EATON  &  MAINS. 

J899. 


u^  '^"^ 


Eaton  &  Mains  Press, 
150  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York, 


PREFACE 


This  book  has  been  written  with  a  sincere  desire 
to  supply  young  men  and  women  with  information 
that  will  aid  them  in  making  a  rational  and  profit- 
able choice  in  the  selection  of  their  lifework.  The 
question  of  the  proper  choice  of  a  business  or  pro- 
fession is  often  a  perplexing  one,  and  an  experience 
of  many  years  in  intimate  relations  with  young 
people  in  our  higher  schools  of  learning  has  con- 
vinced the  writer  that  it  is  perplexing  because  of 
lack  of  the  knowledge  necessary  to  make  an  intelli- 
gent decision.  The  author  has  sought  to  unfold 
that  which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  our  great  in- 
dustries, presenting  what  is  vital  in  the  subjects 
themselves — not  simply  writing  about  them.  There 
is  much  connected  with  law,  medicine,  the  ministry, 
pedagogy,  journalism,  agriculture,  mechanic  arts, 
commerce,  etc.,  which  should  be  understood  before 
the  individual  chooses  any  one  of  these  as  his  life 
pursuit.  He  should  have  some  idea  of  what  he 
will  encounter  before  he  commits  himself  irrevo- 
cably to  a  special  line  of  preparation.  Multitudes 
of  people  are  unsuccessful  because  of  their  unwise 


selection  of  an  occupation;  the  choice  would  have 
been  different  had  they  understood  what  was  before 
them. 
V  It  will  be  observed  that  our  discussions  of  these 
subjects  are  not  comparative.  There  is  no  effort 
to  place  one  vocation  before  any  other,  for  individu- 
als vary  in  tastes  and  in  special  mental  qualifica- 
tions. A  right  adjustment  of  industries  to  powers 
would  put  one  person  in  one  pursuit  and  another 
person  in  some  other  line  of  work,  and  we  believe 
that  if  young  men  and  women  could  have  the  broad 
field  of  life's  activities  laid  out  clearly  before  them, 
they  could  be  greatly  aided  in  determining  the  part 
they  would  individually  best  perform;  fewer  mis- 
takes would  be  made,  and  success  would  more 
generally  be  achieved.  The  author  of  this  book 
hopes  by  a  survey  of  the  trunk  lines  of  human  in- 
dustry to  assist  in  the  selection  of  the  occupation  in 
which  their  personal  interests  may  be  most  fully 
promoted  and  their  obligations  to  others  most  com- 
pletelv  fulfilled.  ^ 

Recognizing  the  fact  that  lack  of  success  is 
largely  the  outcome  of  insufficient  knowledge  and 
poor  management,  the  author  has  sought  not  only 
to  enunciate  the  principles  involved  in  each  vocation, 
but  to  indicate  the  preparation  that  should  be  made 
in  order  to  achieve  the  best  results:     In  all  the  great 


Preface  5 

lines  of  industry  there  is  a  field  for  the  employment 
of  wide  scholarship  and  superior  intellectual  powers. 
The  world  will  run  smoothly,  the  products  of  labor 
be  abundant,  the  comforts  of  life  generally  enjoyed, 
and  the  temptations  to  commit  wrong  diminished 
in  proportion  to  the  wisdom  of  the  choice,  the  prep- 
aration secured,  and  the  skill  gained. 

Every  young  person  should  realize  that  no  life 
can  be  successful,  in  any  true  sense  of  the  word, 
without  spiritual  development  and  employment  in 
religious  activities.  Secular  pursuits  are  but  the 
means  of  living,  religious  activities  the  end.  If 
the  writer  shall  help  the  reader  intelligently  to  ful- 
fill a  divine  plan,  his  purpose  will  be  accomplished. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 
Labor  a  Boon 9 

CHAPTER  n 
The  Teaching  Profession 22 

CHAPTER  III 
The  Teacher 36 

CHAPTER  IV 
The  Ministry 48 

CHAPTER  V 
The  Minister 61 

CHAPTER  VI 
The  Medical  Profession 74 

CHAPTER  VII 
The  Physician 86 

CHAPTER  VIII 
The  Legal  Profession 99 

CHAPTER  IX 
The  Lawyer 113 

CHAPTER  X 
Wielding  the  Press 127 

CHAPTER  XI 
Politics  as  a  Vocation 142 

CHAPTER  XII 
Quarrying  Nature 157 

CHAPTER  XIII 
Man  the  Builder 172 

CHAPTER  XIV 
The  Creation  of  Values 186 

CHAPTER  XV 
Winning  Success 199 

CHAPTER  XVI 
Life's  Supreme  Activities 213 

7 


CHOOSING  A  LIFEWORK 


CHAPTER  I 
Labor  a  Boon 


This  is  not  a  very  large  world,  as  compared  with 
some  of  the  other  worlds  in  space,  yet  it  is  big 
enough  to  furnish  employment  for  every  son  and 
daughter  of  Adam.  Of  the  fourteen  hundred  mil- 
lions of  people  who  comprise  the  race  not  one 
should  be  in  either  voluntary  or  enforced  idleness. 
Our  physical  powers  and  our  mental  faculties  have 
been  provided  for  use,  and  to  permit  them  to  remain 
unemployed  is  to  defeat  the  end  of  our  creation. 

That  it  was  God's  purpose  to  put  everyone  at 
work  needs  no  divine  proclamation  to  establish. 
The  Supreme  Being  does  not  to  any  large  extent 
supply  us  with  that  which  will  support  the  body; 
he  compels  us  to  be  producers  or  starve.  And  he 
does  not  bring  to  us  truth  for  the  nourishment  of 
the  mind,  but  with  an  unlimited  storehouse  for  our 
good  in  his  creations  he  offers  us  just  that  which  we 
can  only  find  by  searching  for  it.  For  six  thousand 
years  man  has  been  busy  in  seeking  truth  with 
more  or  less  of  success.  It  was  intended  that  each 
one  of  us  should  be  an  explorer.  In  putting  the 
family  of  man  on  the  earth,  with  a  grand  destiny  for 


lO    .  Choosing  A  Lifework 

it  in  view,  the  first  of  all  requisites  was  that  we 
should  be  kept  busy.  This  must  be  regarded  as  a 
fundamental  principle.  For  moral  ends  it  is  a 
necessity.  Without  this  God's  government  over  us 
would  be  a  failure.  Nothing  else  could  be  supplied, 
as  a  substitute,  that  would  save  the  race  from  utter 
ruin.  Nations  would  be  ungovernable,  families 
would  be  without  cementing  bonds,  the  Church 
would  have  no  foundation  in  character — no  sense  of 
obligation,  no  true  manhood  and  womanhood  on 
which  to  build.  The  training  of  childhood,  the  dis- 
ciplining of  more  mature  years,  all  that  tends  to 
growth  up  toward  a  strong  and  perfect  life,  would 
be  impossible.  Out  from  industry  grow  all  the 
rights  of  property  and  conditions  for  the  develop- 
ment of  the  sentiments  of  humanity.  Nothing  ex- 
poses man  to  such  moral  perils  as  indolence;  they 
who  are  unemployed  because  of  idleness  are  the  most 
dangerous  stratum  of  society,  and  forced  indolence  is 
sure  to  expose  to  a  thousand  temptations,  and  is 
likely  to  weaken  the  fibers  of  the  moral  life. 

But  in  decreeing  industry  it  was  intended  to  work 
out  to  a  successful  issue  a  mental  as  well  as  a  moral 
problem.  The  plan  that  we  should  be  busy  from 
the  cradle  to  the  grave  was  formed  with  the  dis- 
tinct purpose  of  developing  our  intellectual  powers. 
The  wise  parent  gives  the  child  something  to  think 
about,  something  to  work  out,  that  it  may  mentally 
grow.  To  "do''  is  the  watchword  of  the  day; 
learning  to  do — in  this  to  employ  the  mind  of  the 


Labor  a  Boon  ii 

child.  There  is  profound  philosophy  in  the  method 
and  movement  of  the  kindergarten. 

There  is  law  governing  every  part  of  nature,  and 
there  is  an  unlimited  reservoir  of  forces  awaiting 
employment.  All  mechanical  devices  are  provisions 
for  applying  these  forces  after  the  law  governing 
them  has  been  discovered.  In  its  ultimate  sense 
man  does  not  engender  force,  he  utilizes  it;  and  the 
greatest  of  all  present  problems  is  the  production  of 
means  by  which  the  energies  embedded  in  nature 
may  be  most  fully  applied  to  meet  our  wants.  It  is 
impossible  to  overestimate  the  power  exerted 
through  the  development  of  what  we  call  the  useful 
arts.  From  the  brass  pin  to  the  steam  engine,  from 
the  simplest  process  in  the  kitchen  to  the  most  com- 
plex in  the  manufactory,  from  the  macadamizing  of 
a  road  to  the  tunneling  of  a  mountain  or  the  con- 
struction of  a  suspension  bridge,  from  the  making 
of  a  taper  to  the  lighting  of  a  city  by  an  electric 
plant,  all  the  appliances  and  products  which  are  the 
content  of  this  word  "civilization''  are  the  out- 
growth of  man's  needs  in  the  great  world  of  in- 
dustry, and  they  form  one  of  the  grandest  schools 
for  mental  growth  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
God  compels  us  to  work  because  he  wants  us  to 
think,  and  while  holding  back  these  gifts,  he  has 
made  us  rich  in  the  possession  of  unlimited  power  to 
discover  and  avail  ourselves  of  them. 

God  is  a  kind  master  in  decreeing  labor  as  the  law 
of  life.     To  be  born  into  a  condition  of  opulence  is 


12  Choosing  a  Lifework 

by  no  means  to  be  born  lucky.  "Eighty  per  cent 
of  men  in  the  United  States  now  worth  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  have  risen  from  the  laboring 
classes/'  Some  of  the  sons  of  rich  men  devote 
themselves  to  business  and  find  a  broad  field  for 
their  industry  through  the  wealth  of  the  family,  but 
a  large  percentage  are  indolent.  Wealth  is  gained 
through  industry  and  rational  economy.  The  sons 
of  rich  men  do  not  generally  feel  the  need  of  strict 
economy,  and  they  are  not  impelled  to  be  industrious 
to  secure  a  livelihood.  The  result  is  they  become 
spendthrifts  and  acquire  other  baneful  habits.  They 
soon  squander  their  patrimony  and  take  their  place 
among  the  poor,  from  which  condition  they  cannot 
rise.  Some  conditions  seem  utterly  to  preclude  in- 
centives to  industry.  The  Prince  of  Wales  is  not 
a  saint,  but  he  is  "more  sinned  against  than  sin- 
ning." He  is  personally  unfortunate  in  being  the 
eldest  son  of  a  queen  who  wears  the  crown  until  he 
is  far  past  middle  life.  What  can  he  do?  He  is 
decreed  to  be  a  king,  and  he  may  not  engage  in  busi- 
ness or  enter  a  profession ;  this  would  not  be  kingly. 
He  must  simply  wait.  And  it  would  have  been  well 
had  he  shown  sufficient  strength  of  character  to 
withstand  the  temptations  which  crowd  about  him. 
A  human  being  is  sure  to  do  something  worthy  or 
unworthy. 

To  be  in  the  midst  of  conditions  inimical  to  defi- 
nite lines  of  industry  is  unfortunate.  The  lot  of  the 
society  woman  calls  for  commiseration.     It  is^pleas- 


Labor  a   Boon  13 

ant  to  the  ear  to  listen  to  words  of  complaisance ;  it  is 
a  source  of  pleasure  to  be  the  center  of  attraction. 
The  power  of  a  social  leader  is  by  no  means  to  be 
despised.  Wealth,  brilliancy  of  intellect,  polished 
manners,  grace  of  movement,  a  charming  personal- 
ity— these  form  a  shrine  at  which  people  bow.  The 
danger  is  that  the  pleasure  shall  become  intoxicating 
and  sober  thoughts  find  no  lodgment  in  the  heart. 
To  enjoy  seems  all;  to  do  is  foreign  to  the  experi- 
ences of  daily  life.  There  is  dissipation  of  mental 
energy,  not  growth  up  to  a  higher  plane.  That 
which  contracts  true  womanhood  is  to  be  deplored. 

Society  men — to  use  the  term  in  a  strictly 
technical  sense — in  the  surrender  of  their  time  and 
thoughts  completely  to  social  pleasures  throttle  the 
intellect  and  put  a  check  on  aspirations  for  personal 
greatness.  That  there  should  not  be  social  isolation 
is  evident  from  the  very  constitution  of  the  race, 
but  to  allow  the  social  to  monopolize  all  the  energies 
of  our  being  is  to  substitute  a  part — a  comparatively 
small  part — for  the  whole.  Social  interests  should 
stimulate  the  intellect  rather  than  drive  it  from  its 
throne. 

To  do  is  to  grow,  and  growth  is  in  the  direction 
of  the  doing.  ^'Whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that 
shall  he  also  reap/'  That  which  calls  for  the  exer- 
cise of  mental  energies  will  build  up  the  mental 
powers.  The  principle  which  God  put  underneath 
the  mental  life,  that  it  may  become  grand,  is  that  it 
should  have  definite  and  vigorous  employment.  The 


14  Choosing  a  Lifework 

schools  are  not  the  only  place  where  mental  growth 
is  secured.  These  ought  to  enjoy  a  preeminence  be- 
cause they  are  intended  to  be  intellectual  workshops. 
Yet  the  student  in  college  frequently  displays  less 
of  the  spirit  and  habit  of  the  scholar  than  some  of 
the  young  men  who  have  never  taken  a  college 
course.  When  and  so  far  as  this  is  true  the  latter 
is  sure  to  outstrip  the  former.  This  does  not  raise 
a  question  as  to  the  value  of  college  education;  it 
shows  that  mental  effort  pays  whenever  put  forth. 
Some  college  graduates  are  not  scholarly,  and  some 
who  are  not  graduates  are.  And,  whatever  may  be 
the  lines  of  employment,  that  which  entails  the  most 
of  systematic  and  consecutive  mental  labor  will  be 
the  most  largely  productive  of  mental  growth. 

That  great  belt  called  the  tropics  has  not  per- 
formed a  very  important  part  in  the  world's  history. 
Evidently  this  has  largely  been  due  to  the  limited 
demand  for  labor,  together  with  the  disinclination 
to  work  resulting  from  the  enervating  influence  of 
the  climate.  We  act  under  the  stress  of  motives. 
When  nature  without  our  aid  supplies  our  wants 
in  abundance  we  are  quite  ready  to  let  her  do  it  all. 
The  great  fertility  of  the  tropics  produces  conditions 
for  physical  support  which  render  the  industrial  arts 
necessary  only  to  a  small  extent.  When  nature  is 
lavish  of  her  gifts  we  do  not  need  to  toil ;  as  a  conse- 
quence there  are  physical  inaction  and  mental  stag- 
nation, and  civilization  is  on  a  low  plane. 

Again,  no  one  will  put  forth  effort  where  success 


Labor  a  Boon    >  15 

is  hopeless.  A  motive  is  more  than  a  desire;  it 
is  a  desire  that  can  be  reahzed.  There  has  never 
been  any  grand  national  or  race  development  in  the 
frigid  zones.  In  the  tropics  man  does  not  need  to 
be  industrious ;  in  the  polar  regions  the  severest  toil 
would  bring  forth  only  the  most  meager  results. 
Hence  in  both  cases  there  is  the  absence  of  adequate 
motives.  In  the  tropics  there  is  abundance  as  a  free 
gift;  in  the  frigid  zones  there  is  poverty  no  matter 
how  great  an  effort  might  be  put  forth.  It  shows 
that  man  is  feeble  when  he  is  idle ;  he  becomes  great 
only  as  his  being  is  stirred  by  some  great  motive 
which  inspires  to  action. 

Africa  has  not  been  an  historic  land.  Why? 
Physical  geography  solves  the  problem :  she  has 
not  been  in  touch  with  the  great  movements  of  the 
race.  With  a  coast  line  almost  unbroken,  there 
being  but  few  indentations  for  harbors,  with  a  lack 
of  river  systems  connecting  the  interior  with  the 
coast,  the  people  have  been  isolated,  shut  up  almost 
as  within  prison  walls.  They  have  had  no  knowl- 
edge of  what  was  going  on  among  the  peoples  of 
the  earth.  Manufactures,  commerce,  systems  of 
agriculture  even,  have  been  unknown  to  them.  Ig- 
norant of  the  achievements  in  the  industrial  arts, 
there  has  been  nothing  to  stimulate  to  labor.  With 
no  thoroughfares  for  commerce,  international  trade 
would  not  exist  should  manufactures  be  produced, 
and  manufacturing,  except  in  most  primitive  forms, 
would  not  be  carried  forward.     The  valley  of  the 


i6  Choosing  a  Lifework 

Nile,  through  which  that  historic  river  has  been  flow- 
ing during  all  these  ages,  has  not  been  within  the 
deep  night  that  has  so  fully  shrouded  the  intellectual 
horizon  of  so  much  of  that  dark  land.  When  the 
heart  of  Africa  shall  be  brought  out  into  the  light 
of  day,  when  her  people  shall  come  to  know  what 
the  world  is  doing,  when  railroads  shall  penetrate 
into  and  traverse  her  now  dark  domain,  gradually 
she  will  come  to  understand  her  powers  and  see  the 
good  lying  before  her,  and  in  her  awakening  and 
awakened  life,  notwithstanding  her  depressing  cli- 
mate, she  will  be  brought  to  bestir  herself,  and  the 
dawning  of  a  better  day  will  pass  on  toward  a 
brighter  future.  That  day  is  now  hastening  on, 
and  to  the  extent  of  her  subjective  efforts. she  will 
become  great. 

Southern  Europe  from  time  immemorial  has  been 
awake  because  everything  about  her  has  suggested 
effort  and  called  for  action.  Jutting  down  into  the 
Mediterranean  at  so  many  points,  with  unusually 
extended  coast  line — with  a  favoring  sky  as  well — 
inaction  was  impossible;  hence  here  we  find  the 
world's  early  and  great  historic  fields.  Greece  has 
charmed  us  with  the  glory  that  has  gleamed  forth 
from  her  brow.  Philosophy,  poetry  and  song,  elo- 
quence which  has  never  been  excelled,  painting  and 
sculpture,  statesmanship  before  which  we  bow, 
military  achievements  which  dazzle  the  vision  even 
through  the  vista  of  more  than  two  thousand  years 
— these  tell  of  her  wonderful  life.     And  the  seven- 


Labor  a  Boon  17 

hilled  city  on  the  Tiber,  with  the  beautiful  Italic 
skies  overhead  and  Italic  soil  under  foot,  became  not 
only  the  mistress  of  that  far-famed  peninsula,  but 
the  conqueror  of  the  world.  Mighty  in  arms,  wield- 
ing power  as  though  born  to  rule,  with  great  orators, 
far-seeing  statesmen,  military  chieftains  who  bore 
the  eagle  in  triumph  over  all  lands,  such  was  Rome 
for  a  thousand  years,  and  had  not  vice  tainted  all 
the  fountains  of  her  life  and  relaxed  her  powers,  her 
greatness  would  have  survived  to  the  present  day. 

Spain  at  a  later  period  gained  renown,  becoming 
at  one  time  the  great  maritime  power  of  the  world, 
for  which  her  location,  with  Portugal,  as  the  south- 
western peninsula  of  Europe  so  admirably  fitted  her. 
This  preeminence  she  would  not  have  lost  had  she 
not  imbibed  some  principles  of  government  which 
arrayed  against  her  the  best  elements  of  our  hu- 
manity. 

England  seems  to  have  inherited  physical  condi- 
tions which  push  her  to  the  front  as  a  great  world 
nation.  Maritime  in  her  location,  she  has  been  al- 
most forced  out  upon  the  sea,  until  she  has  come  to 
be  at  home  in  every  climate  and  in  almost  every 
land.  This  has  done  for  her  what  nothing  else  could 
have  done  in  the  variety  of  her  industries  and  the 
problems  demanding  solution  which  have  con- 
fronted her,  so  that  her  great  navy  and  her  exten- 
sive merchant  marine  are  but  an  illustration  of  her 
comprehensive  national  life  and  industrial  pursuits. 

The  ancient  monarchies  of  Chaldea  and  Assyria 


i8  Choosing  a  Life  work 

became  great  because  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris 
flowed  through  their  domains.  On  these  rivers, 
which  in  conjunction  swept  down  to  the  Persian 
Gulf,  were  built  Babylon  and  Nineveh,  dominating 
the  Eastern  world. 

Whichever  way  we  turn  we  find  that  men  and  na- 
tions are  what  they  make  themselves  to  be  under 
motives  for  action.  Earning  what  we  consume  and 
being  permitted  to  handle  what  we  earn  are  prereq- 
uisites to  the  most  healthful  industrial  life.  In- 
discriminate charity  is  an  evil.  It  is  better  in  every 
way  to  provide  the  means  of  gaining  support  than 
to  bestow  it  as  a  beneficence.  The  love  of  the 
mother  which  prompts  her  to  take  upon  herself  the 
toil  the  daughter  ought  to  bear  is  not  a  kindness, 
but  a  positive  injury.  In  the  treatment  of  the 
aborigines  by  the  American  government  indiscrimi- 
nate beneficence  at  times  has  proved  to  be  nearly  as 
destructive  as  selfish  cruelty  at  other  times.  There 
is  no  dependence  so  base  as  that  which  makes  another 
your  master,  and  the  stimulant  to  effort  is  in  propor- 
tion to  the  control  of  the  products  of  labor. 

The  vocations  which  are  open  before  us  are  either 
largely  physical  or  more  distinctively  mental,  and 
to  whichever  class  they  belong  we  expect  to  gain 
from  them  the  means  of  personal  and  family  sup- 
port. That  this  need  is  almost  universal  does  not 
detract  from  the  intellectual  value  of  the  work  done; 
and  indeed  it  is  probable  that,  on  the  whole,  a  larger 
measure  of   mental   good   is   thereby   gained   than 


Labor  a   Boon  19 

would  otherwise  be  secured.  Then  it  must  be  borne 
in  mind,  as  already  stated,  that  there  are  ethical 
values  of  the  highest  importance  which  ought  to  be 
wrought  out  in  the  employments  followed.  We 
are  not  to  labor  simply  to  be  great,  but  to  meet  obli- 
gations. With  the  egoism  there  must  be  an  al- 
truism, and  because  of  the  altruism  the  egoism  be- 
comes more  worthy  and  mighty.  The  moral  nature 
must  not  only  not  be  ignored,  it  must  be  developed 
and  made  more  efficient  as  the  days  go  by.  Man- 
hood in  us  is  God's  aim  in  establishing  the  scheme 
for  our  experience  and  procedure  both  in  social  rela- 
tions and  individual  industries. 

Before  entering  on  the  discussion  of  the  different 
professions  and  callings  which  lie  before  us  there  are 
a  few  points  to  take  into  consideration. 

First.  There  is  much  at  stake  in  making  a  choice. 
A  young  man  may  be  better  fitted  for  one  sphere  of 
life  than  for  any  other.  Not  going  quite  so  far  as 
Horace  Bushnell  when  he  tells  us  that  God  has  a 
particular  place  into  which  he  would  put  each  indi- 
vidual— ordaining  to  a  special  vocation — yet  it  is 
evident  we  may  blunder  if  the  greatest  care  be  not 
exercised;  and  we  can  choose  intelligently  only 
where  we  understand  the  nature  of  the  several  em- 
ployments opening  their  doors  to  us,  and  possess  an 
accurate  judgment  as  to  our  qualifications  to  per- 
form the  work  required.  A  man  may  become  a 
good  machinist  who  could  not  become  a  successful 
lawyer,  or  he  might  gain  eminence  in  the  law  while 


20  Choosing  a  Lifework 

he  would  meet  with  faiUire  should  he  engage  in 
mechanical  pursuits. 

Second.  Make  some  choice.  Do  not  allow 
your  life  to  float.  It  may  be  difficult  to  determine 
what  line  of  labor  you  are  best  fitted  to  take  up,  but 
on  careful  study  of  the  subject  come  to  some  con- 
clusion. Even  should  circumstances  compel  you 
afterward  to  change  your  plans,  it  is  better  to  have 
anchored  in  something.  To  gain  skill  there  must 
be  definiteness  of  aim ;  do  not  permit  yourself  to  go 
through  life  without  gaining  all  the  skill  it  is  pos- 
sible to  achieve  in  some  one  vocation. 

Third.  Concentrate  your  efforts  on  a  compara- 
tively narrow  line  of  work;  do  not  scatter  over  a 
broad  field.  Success  is  mtensive  rather  than  exion- 
sive.  It  is  better  farming  to  raise  thirty  bushels 
of  wheat  on  one  acre  than  on  two  acres.  Thorough- 
ness is  the  secret  of  success. 

Fourth.  If  you  do  not  find  an  opening  in  the 
line  you  prefer,  do  not  make  this  an  excuse  for  idle- 
ness. Better  unwelcome  forms  of  industry  than  no 
industry  at  all.  The  poorest  preparation  a  person 
can  make  is  in  the  waiting  for  something  to  "turn 
up." 

Fifth.  If  you  are  employed  on  a  salary,  make 
yourself  a  necessity  to  your  employer  by  your  com- 
plete mastery  of  the  interests  in  your  hands  and  the 
fidelity  with  which  you  perform  your  work.  In 
salaried  positions  we  do  not  generally  need  to  grap- 
ple certain  problems  which  confront  those  whose 


Labor  a   Boon  21 

capital  is  employed,  but  there  is  room  in  most  cases 
for  the  exercise  of  intelligent  discretion  and  a  thor- 
ough study  of  the  principles  of  business  and  of 
successful  methods. 

In  the  nature  of  the  case  woman  will  not  be  as 
generally  a  producer  as  man.  In  the  divine  economy 
very  largely  her  time  will  be  given  to  household 
responsibilities.  God's  plan  is  that  through  mar- 
riage there  shall  be  a  home  over  which  she  shall 
preside.  The  mother  should  see  to  it  that  the 
daughter  be  carefully  instructed  in  the  management 
of  household  affairs.  In  nothing  has  Queen  Vic- 
toria more  fully  shown  the  high  qualities  she  pos- 
sesses as  a  ruler  than  in  this  respect. 

It  is  productive  of  good  that  new  lines  of  industry 
are  daily  opening  for  woman.  No  greater  wisdom 
can  be  displayed  than  that  she  shall  carry  out  a 
purpose  to  gain  skill  in  some  branch  of  labor  or 
business,  even  though  marriage  seem  a  certainty  or 
literary  pursuits  offer  special  attractions.  To  be  help- 
less in  the  presence  of  personal  disaster  which  the 
future  may  bring  is  a  calamity  which  should  not  be 
allowed  to  overtake  her;  but,  whether  through  the 
action  of  hand  or  brain,  there  is  a  destiny  to  work 
out,  and  woman  will  be  recognized  in  the  years  to 
come  as  wielding  forces  to  which  our  mothers  were 
strangers.  In  the  future  man  is  not  to  be  the  whole, 
as  in  the  ages  gone  by;  woman  will  have  a  share 
with  him  in  the  labors  and  glory  of  individual  and 
world  achievements. 


22  Choosing  a  Lifework 


CHAPTER  II 

The  Teaching  Profession 

The  supreme  employment  of  the  human  family — • 
the  purpose  for  which  the  race  is  placed  on  the  earth 
— is  the  making  of  men  and  women.  Everything  else 
is  subsidiary,  and  intended  to  be  but  means  to  this 
as  an  end.  This  being  true,  the  desires  and  ambi- 
tions of  the  human  heart  indicate  that  throughout 
society  there  is  gross  perversion  of  power.  Al- 
most universally  the  mind  is  trained  simply  in  order 
that  a  livelihood  may  be  gained  or  wealth  secured. 
Few  people  struggle  for  material  possessions  with 
the  distinct  aim  of  reaching  the  highest  mental 
growth.  A  wealthy  man,  in  replying  to  the  in- 
quiry as  to  his  real  ambition,  said,  "My  chief  am- 
bition is  to  leave  a  million  to  each  of  my  children." 
This  illustrates  the  almost  universal  misconception 
of  the  proper  aims  of  life.  It  is  putting  ''having" 
before  ''being;"  determining  what  a  man  is  worth 
by  the  entries  in  the  ledger  rather  than  by  the  qual- 
ity and  might  of  his  mental  life.  God  intended  the 
soul  for  an  unending  state  of  progressive  existence. 
The  stars  may  lose  their  light  and  the  heavens  pass 
away,  but  man  shall  live  on,  and  forever.  That  is 
a  very  inadequate  notion  of  the  eternal  world  which 
does  not  make  it  to  be  a  theater  for  the  endless  un- 
folding of  powers  and  enriching  of  the  life.     What 


The  Teaching  Pro^essiok  23 

I  am  IS  inconceivably  more  important  than  what  I 
possess.     In  God's  plan  men  outrank  money. 

The  mind  of  the  infant  child  is  mere  potentiality. 
There  is  the  groundwork  of  powers,  but  nothing 
more.  At  first  there  is  no  differentiation,  no-  modes 
of  energy.  The  infant  does  not  think;  it  does  not 
will,  and  there  is  no  emotional  reality.  In  the  final 
sense  there  is  not  mind,  but  only  unorganized  ele- 
ments of  mind.  The  brain  is  there,  and  the  nerves 
to  connect  with  the  external  world  are  there;  more 
than  this,  there  is  spirit  substance,  but  no  differen- 
tiated action.  It  must,  however,  be  borne  in  mind 
that  there  are  marvelous  energies  in  the  infant  life — 
energies  for  ultimate  manhood,  energies  not  found 
anywhere  else  in  the  animal  world;  but  they  must 
be  stimulated,  drawn  out,  and  guided  largely 
through  external  influences. 

The  first  fact  that  engages  our  attention  is  this: 
that  we  have  a  sensuous  nature.  Mind  acts  in  and 
through  the  brain.  There  is  a  nervous  system  by 
means  of  which  we  come  in  contact  with  material 
objects.  The  senses  of  sight,  hearing,  touch,  taste, 
and  smell  are  connecting  links  between  nature  and 
mind,  and  supply  provision  for  action  and  for  dif- 
ferentiation of  mental  energies.  Into  such  a  world 
as  this  are  we  born.  In  absolute  isolation  the  mind 
would  not  open  and  unfold,  but  in  the  presence  of  a 
world  constantly  undergoing  changes — of  position, 
form,  color,  of  condition  in  every  conceivable  way — 
perception   is   awakened,   resemblances   and   differ- 


^4  Choosing  a  Lifework 

ences  are  realized,  and  thereby  a  capability  is  de- 
veloped of  discerning  and  knowing.  Knowledge  is 
not  a  mode  of  motion,  but  without  motion — change, 
modification,  passing  into  new  forms  and  states  of 
external  things — the  mind  must  continue  to  be  a 
blank.  Mind  is  at  first  embryonic;  to  become  real 
there  must  be  a  reaction  of  the  external  on  its  sus- 
ceptible nature. 

There  lies  in  the  lap  of  the  mother  a  priceless 
treasure.  It  is  a  spark  of  the  divine;  it  is  a  germ 
of  the  immortal.  Tenderness  and  intense  solicitude 
fill  the  heart  of  the  mother ;  pride  of  parentage  stirs 
the  breast  of  the  father.  Love  will  prompt  the 
making  of  every  sacrifice  for  the  well-being  of  that 
infant  life.  The  parent  'is  the  natural  teacher  of 
the  child.  Law  and  custom  give  the  parent  juris- 
diction over  the  child  for  twenty  years  and  more 
because  there  is  need  for  this  guidance,  and  the 
wedded  pair  will  not  defraud  the  offspring  of  that 
holy  union. 

The  evident  inability  of  the  parent  to  supply, 
by  personal  instruction,  all  the  child  needs  up  to  man- 
hood has  led  to  the  institution  of  schools  of  learning 
conducted  by  teachers  chosen  expressly  for  this  pur- 
pose. With  us  this  work  is  supervised  by  the  state, 
and  in  many  of  our  commonwealths  attendance  on 
the  school  is  made  compulsory.  That  the  state  has 
a  right  to  make  and  enforce  such  requirements  is 
evident  from  the  relation  of  the  citizen  to  the  govern- 
ment.    Political  franchises  are  in  the  hands  of  the 


The   Teaching   Profession  25 

people;  on  them  devolves  the  responsibility  of  gov- 
erning the  state.  That  there  may  be  capable  citi- 
zenship there  must  be  intelligent  citizenship.  Illit- 
eracy is  a  menace  to  civil  order.  It  is  more  than 
weakness;  it  is  disruptive  and  destructive  power. 
That  the  American  republic  may  withstand  the 
shocks  of  political  assaults  on  the  rights  and  the 
well-being  of  the  people  there  must  be  enlightened 
citizenship.  The  public  cannot  be  entrapped  by  de- 
signing men  when  our  eyes  are  open  and  intelligence 
is  on  guard.  The  few  will  cease  to  lead  the  many 
when  education  becomes  universal. 

The  teaching  profession  performs  not  only  a 
unique  work,  but  a  work  of  the  highest  value  to  the 
public.  There  is  no  greater  problem  to  engage  the 
attention  of  this  or  any  other  age  than  the  right 
training  of  the  young.  It  is  more  important  than 
the  tariff  or  the  question  of  hard  money.  The 
schoolhouse  mounts  higher  than  the  dome  of  the 
Capitol  at  Washington.  Teachers  are  doing  in- 
conceivably more  for  the  nation  than  the  men  we 
send  to  either  house  of  Congress.  With  right 
school  influences  politicians  cannot  wreck  a  nation, 
nor  can  they  get  far  in  advance  of  the  columns  which 
sweep  out  from  school  or  academic  halls.  Is  the 
boy  the  father  of  the  man  ?  Manhood  is  not  put  on 
at  twenty-one  years  of  age;  it  is  a  growth  from  in- 
fancy up  to  the  stage  at  which  mental  crystallization 
is  accomplished. 

We  need  only  to  open  our  eyes  to  see  the  diverse 


26  Choosing  a  Lifework 

trends  of  mind.  Nothing  has  more  inequality  in 
it  than  the  mental  conditions  of  the  race.  Yonder  is 
a  man  who  in  his  altitude  has  reached  the  very 
mountain  top  of  intellectual  greatness;  just  at  his 
side  is  another  away  down  in  the  valley,  and  between 
the  two  there  are  a  thousand  gradations  of  mental 
life.  Is  the  world  to-day  as  God  made  it  and  meant 
it  to  be?  Did  human  beings  start  as  far  apart  as 
we  find  them  after  reaching  manhood  and  woman- 
hood? By  no  means.  This  disparity  is  not  God- 
made,  but  man-made.  Evidently  the  mental  capa- 
bilities of  different  persons  are  not  just  the  same. 
This  is  shown  by  the  ease  or  difficulty  with  which 
different  branches  of  study  are  mastered  in  our 
schools. 

But  while  perhaps  no  two  minds  are  wholly  alike 
in  acuteness,  in  logical  grasp,  in  philosophical  in- 
sight, in  the  ease  with  which  different  kinds  of  work 
can  be  done,  yet  the  great  disparity  in  men  is  due 
mostly  to  education.  With  the  same  skill  in  edu- 
cators, and  the  same  methods  and  energy  of  work 
on  the  part  of  students  during  school  years  and  the 
years  following,  ninety-nine  hundredths  of  the  in- 
equality would  disappear.  There  ought  to  be  ten- 
fold more  great  men  and  women  than  there  are 
to-day.  Aristotle,  being  asked  how  the  educated 
differed  from  the  uneducated,  replied,  "As  the  living 
differ  from  the  dead.''  Says  Wendell  Phillips, 
''Education  is  the  only  interest  worthy  the  deep  con- 
trolling anxiety  of  the  thoughtful  man." 


The   Teaching   Profession  27 

God  projects  upon  this  earth  only  raw  material. 
The  astounding  differences  which  meet  our  gaze  are 
the  products  of  human  energy.  Our  markets  keep 
for  sale  human  energies  in  concrete  form.  Subtract 
the  qualities  man  has  implanted  and  there  would  not 
be  a  buyer  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  All  capital 
comes  out  of  human  brains.  What  we  have  wrought 
is  the  stock  in  trade  everywhere.  The  entire  problem 
of  values  is  a  problem  of  education.  We  develop 
being,  we  put  desirable  qualities  into  it,  and  there 
is  established  the  very  groundwork  of  all  commerce 
and  the  inspiration  of  all  industries. 

What  can  man  not  achieve  in  this  world  in  which 
God  has  placed  him?  The  iron  ore  has  lain  value- 
less in  the  crust  of  the  earth  for  millions  of  years. 
Man  digs  up  this  ore,  and  thus  puts  in  it  the  value  of 
two  or  three  dollars  a  ton;  he  employs  on  this  ore 
his  labor  and  skill,  converting  it  into  pig  iron,  and 
its  value  rises  up  to  eight  or  ten  dollars  a  ton.  He 
carries  forward  this  work,  effecting  a  more  com- 
plete reduction,  and  manufactures  steel  rails  for  our 
railroads,  and  men  pay  him  from  twenty-five  to 
thirty  dollars  a  ton  for  this  product  of  his  labor.  But 
he  is  not  yet  satisfied  with  his  work.  He  takes  the 
steel,  he  refines  it  to  the  utmost  point  of  perfection, 
he  draws  it  into  threads,  he  tempers  it  with  the  last 
degree  of  care,  he  makes  a  perfect  coil,  elastic  to 
the  fullest  extent,  and  what  has  he?  What  is  this 
product  worth?  The  ore  was  valueless  in  the  soil; 
it  starts  on  its  upward  trend  at  two  dollars  per  ton ; 


28  Choosing  a  Lifework 

as  steel  rails  it  reaches  twenty-five  or  thirty  dollars 
a  ton;  but  as  hairsprings  for  the  watch  it  is  worth 
several  millions  of  dollars  a  ton — pound  for  pound 
many  times  more  than  gold,  about  which  we 
are  wrangling  to-day.  This  is  the  education  of  the 
material  product.  So  with  mind.  A  m€ve  po- 
tentiality in  that  infant  brain,  under  the  mother's 
care  there  is  the  dawning  of  intelligence,  mostly  a 
prophecy  of  what  the  intellect  may  come  to  be;  but 
having  been  trained  in  the  kindergarten,  the  primary 
school,  the  high  school,  the  college,  the  university, 
and  on  in  the  mighty  problems  of  thought  through 
an  intensely  intellectual  manhood,  it  is  wrought  up 
to  a  state  of  power  and  life  fitly,  but  imperfectly, 
illustrated  by  the  steel  which  so  vastly  transcends 
the  value  of  gold — called  our  most-  precious  metal. 
The  poet  says,'''Tis  education  forms  the  common 
mind."  It  is  education  that  makes  or  develops 
mind  in  its  grandest,  highest,  noblest  being. 

Is  there  any  sense  in  which  our  schools  do  not 
pay?  As  a  foundation  of  the  various  employments 
and  professions  of  life  it  is  estimated  that  a  primary 
school  education  increases  business  efficiency  fifty 
per  cent,  a  high  school  education  one  hundred  per 
cent,  and  a  college  education  four  hundred  per  cent. 
This  is  a  somewhat  commercial  putting  of  the  case. 
Philosophically  the  problem  is  the  development  of 
the  mental  potentialities  in  the  direction  and  up  to 
the  measure  of  completeness  involved  in  the  char- 
acter of  these  potentialities — the  most  complete  man- 


The   Teaching   Profession  29 

hood,  the  most  complete  womanhood.  This  being 
done,  efficiency  in  the  vocations  of  Hfe  will  take 
care  of  itself.  God  set  out  to  make  men  and  women, 
not  millionaires  or  professional  prodigies.  There 
is  no  danger  that  poverty  and  inefficiency  in  public 
life  will  follow  in  the  wake  of  our  schools.  Every 
interest  of  the  individual  and  of  the  public  will  be 
promoted  in  proportion  to  the  plane  of  rational 
scholarship  reached  in  our  schools. 

The  teaching  profession  is  one  of  great  impor- 
tance, and  it  is  a  credit  to  any  person  to  meet  fully 
the  responsibilities  therein  assumed.  It  was  a  divine 
thought — more  than  this,  a  divine  purpose — to  lift 
up  the  world  through  human  industry,  to  make  it 
rich  and  perfect  by  the  action  of  human  intellects 
and  wills. 

There  are  many  things  here  to  be  done — the 
forests  are  to  be  leveled,  the  soil  to  be  cultivated, 
the  mountains  to  be  mined,  cities  to  be  built,  rail- 
roads to  be  constructed,  commerce  to  cover  the  seas, 
the  raw  material  of  nature  is  to  be  changed  into 
higher  forms  in  every  department  of  the  arts;  but 
the  richest,  the  most  marvelous  field  of  industry, 
where  the  most  valuable  products  are  created,  is 
the  human  life,  this  immortal  being  of  intellect, 
heart,  and  will.  The  miner's  pick  unearths  the  gold, 
and  could  enough  be  found,  it  would  solve  the 
financial  problem  which  is  so  profoundly  stirring  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  Out  from  the  whirl  of  delicate 
machinery  there  come  forth  fabrics  fitted  to  adorn 


30  Choosing  a  Lifework 

the  person  of  a  goddess,  but  gold  and  the  most  ex- 
quisite fabrics  are  lifeless  and  inert.  We  admire  the 
genius  of  the  sculptor  and  stand  with  charmed 
vision  before  his  wonderful  creations.  Under  the 
touch  of  his  chisel  the  shapeless  mass  of  marble  is 
transformed  into  an  object  of  wondrous  beauty. 
In  it  he  saw  an  angel,  and  with  skill  almost  super- 
human he  has  removed  the  incrustations  of  the  ages, 
and  there  stands  out  before  us  a  divine  creation  of 
thought.  And  yet  the  thought  is  in  the  brain  of 
the  artist;  the  marble  is  only  marble  still.  There 
are  eyes  in  that  statue,  but  they  see  not;  ears,  but 
they  hear  not.  No  fountain  of  feeling  has  been 
opened;  no  throne  of  reason  has  been  found;  no 
heart  throbbing  with  purpose  and  reaching  out  after 
the  immortal.  Only  in  metaphor  is  that  statue  a 
man ;  there  is  not  in  it  the  faintest  pulsation  of  life. 
It  is  still  but  marble ;  beyond  this  the  sculptor  cannot 

go. 

But  the  teacher  penetrates  into  a  holier  realm 
than  this.  Not  only  does  his  genius  appear  in  some 
product  of  his  skill  and  tact,  as  with  the  sculptor, 
but  from  under  his  guiding  hand,  his  inspiring 
touch,  there  comes  forth  that  which  is  not  only 
clothed  with  beauty,  but  with  life — a  cultured  soul 
within  which  dwell  love,  purpose,  ambition,  power, 
reaching  out  to  take  hold  upon  forces  which  will 
make  history  and  mold  the  life  of  coming  ages.  Yes, 
the  teacher  holds  the  destinies  of  endless  ages  in  his 
grasp,  and  achieves  results  that  cannot  be  wrought 


The  Teaching   Profession  31 

out  in  any  other  domain  of  human  activity.  In  say- 
ing this  we  do  not  compare  pedagogy  with  other 
professions,  but  we  are  affirming  that  the  teaching 
and  guiding  of  human  Hfe,  in  any  and  all  profes- 
sions, is  the  mightiest  power  for  good,  and  more 
completely  works  out  a  divine  plan  than  any  other 
form  of  industry.  There  is  no  other  field  for  labor 
from  which  such  extraordinary  harvests  can  be 
gathered. 

In  building  a  railroad  we  add  to  the  physical 
comforts  of  man,  but  in  building  a  college  or  univer- 
sity, or  developing  the  system  of  public  schools  up 
to  the  highest  efficiency,  we  are  working  on  godlike 
powers  which  transcend  all  the  material  products  of 
human  industry.  Cultivating  the  soil,  we  wield  the 
forces  of  nature  so  that  the  hungry  shall  have  bread; 
but  training  the  energies  of  thought  and  of  the  moral 
life,  souls  are  nourished,  souls  which  will  never  die. 
Presiding  over  a  manufactory,  ten  thousand  wheels 
move  at  our  bidding ;  presiding  over  schools  of  learn- 
ing, of  lower  or  higher  grade,  we  give  direction  and 
inspiration,  not  to  machinery  that  may  perish  to- 
morrow or  be  paralyzed  any  day  by  a  strike,  but  to 
powers  which  in  their  unfolding  may  rise  above  all 
adverse  combinations  and  laugh  even  fate  to  scorn. 
A  person  is  more  than  a  thing.  Mind  is  worth  im- 
mensely more  than  matter  though  developed  into  the 
highest  forms.  He  is  working  in  God's  richest 
vineyard  who  is  molding  immortal  spirits. 

The  reactive  influence  of  teaching  on  the  teacher 


32  Choosing  a  Lifework 

must  not  be  left  out  of  the  account.  Whatever 
pecuniary  advantages  may  accrue,  no  one  can  afford 
to  choose  an  employment  that  in  any  sense  degrades 
the  Hfe.  Teaching  is  and  must  be  intellectually 
and  morally  healthful.  The  work  consists  of  the  im- 
parting of  knowledge  and  the  training  of  mental 
powers.  It  is  dwelling  in  an  intellectual  atmos- 
phere, stimulating  thought,  guiding  mental  move- 
ments, and  seeking  to  intensify  the  powers  of  the 
soul.  The  teacher  finds  it  necessary  to  give  clear 
expression  to  his  ideas,  and  the  habit  thus  gained 
makes  the  ideas  handled  more  sharply  defined  in  his 
own  mind.  He  deals  with  students  more  or  less 
acute  in  their  mental  operations,  and  the  task  is  not 
an  easy  one  to  adapt  his  instructions  to  the  diverse 
needs  which  arise;  he  is  almost  forced  into  a  life 
of  accurate  scholarship  and  sharpness  of  intellectual 
vision.  Nothing  is  more  conducive  to  a  reliable 
action  of  mind  than  the  habit  of  clearly  and  com- 
prehensively mastering  the  subjects  of  thought.  In 
the  gaining  of  knowledge  there  is  a  growth  of  the 
faculties  by  which  we  come  to  know.  In  learning 
we  acquire  the  power  to  learn  more  easily  and 
deeply.  The  energies  of  the  mind  must  be  trained 
in  order  to  extend  most  widely  the  range  of  knowl- 
edge, and  these  energies  are  trained  by  the  gaining 
of  knowledge.  We  cannot  separate  learning  and 
training.  The  teacher  labors  with  this  twofold  end 
in  view :  that  the  pupil  may  become  learned,  and  that 
he  may  possess  a  vigorous  intellectual  life.     This 


The   Teaching   PROFESSioisr  33 

may  well  operate  as  a  powerful  motive  in  turning 
young  people  toward  the  teaching  profession.  Some 
employments  narrow  the  mind;  the  handling  of 
truth  and  the  training  of  mental  powers  tend  to 
enlarge  and  more  fully  equip  the  mind  for  further 
achievements — for  the  more  complete  building  up  of 
manhood  itself.  And,  if  for  no  other  reason,  teach- 
ing is  morally  beneficial  because  of  the  exclusion  of 
that  which  is  low  and  base  by  truth  itself,  which  is 
always  wholesome.  Much  of  personal  evil  comes 
from  environment;  and  the  preoccupation  of  the 
mind  with  that  which  is  pure  and  healthful  acts  as  a 
safeguards  of  the  greatest  value.  Hence,  as  might  be 
expected,  the  moral  tone  of  the  profession  is  far  above 
the  average  moral  plane  of  the  people  who  compose 
most  of  our  communities. 

This  profession  is  not  in  a  high  degree  lucrative. 
In  it  no  great  fortunes  are  ever  made.  The  com- 
petition for  positions  is  very  sharp;  school  boards 
are  not  always  wise  enough  to  discriminate  suffi- 
ciently in  favor  of  merit.  And  it  is  doubtless  true 
that  the  public  would  not  uphold  them  in  giving 
salaries  that  are  adequately  remunerative.  The 
superintendents  of  schools  in  some  of  our  large 
cities  and  the  presidents  of  a  few  American  colleges 
receive  salaries  which  fairly  represent  the  dignity 
of  the  positions  they  occupy,  but  these  are  excep- 
tions, not  the  rule ;  and  even  they  bear  no  comparison 
with  the  compensation  offered  in  some  of  the  best 
positions,  outside  of  this  profession. 


34  CllOOSlWG  A  Lll^EWOfelt 

One  of  the  most  discouraging  facts  which  con- 
front young  men  and  women  who  contemplate  be- 
coming teachers  is  that  so  much  of  the  field  is 
occupied  by  persons  who  resort  to  teaching  as  a 
temporary  expedient.  It  is  with  them  a  makeshift 
to  earn  a  little  money  as  an  aid  to  something  else. 
Their  heart  is  not  in  it ;  they  are  not  seeking  the  best 
preparation;  they  are  aiming  for  something  quite 
different  in  the  future.  These  persons  crowd  the 
ranks  more  than  full,  putting  serious  obstacles  in  the 
way  of  those  who  would  be  glad  to  make  teaching 
their  lifework.  There  is  no  other  department  of  in- 
dustry that  suffers  like  this.  In  all  other  profes- 
sions there  are  multitudes  of  people  who  have  taught 
in  our  schools  to  get  money  to  carry  forward 
their  studies,  or,  having  completed  their  academic 
course,  to  pay  their  debts  or  gain  a  support  while 
getting  ready  to  enter  an  entirely  different  calling. 
Just  to  the  extent  that  this  prevails  is  harm  done 
which  in  the  aggregate  is  an  alarming  evil. 

The  teaching  profession  is  modest,  and  does  its 
work  in  a  modest  way.  If  you  seek  special  noto- 
riety, this  is  no  place  for  you.  There  are  other  pro- 
fessions and  vocations  that  obtrude  themselves  on 
the  attention  of  the  public  much  more  than  this. 
Quietly,  out  of  sight,  must  you  do  your  work.  No 
brass  band  will  play  at  the  door  of  your  schoolroom, 
and  the  great  public  will  surge  by  without  thinking 
of  your  patient  toil.  Your  pupils  will  not  be  law- 
yers, physicians,  ministers,  and  statesmen  whom  the 


The   Teaching   Profession  35 

people  are  glad  to  honor.  But  let  me  say  to  you 
that  if  you  put  your  life  into  this  work,  from  the 
loving  touch  of  that  hand  of  yours,  from  the  interest 
you  feel  in  the  development  of  the  intellectual  and 
moral  life  of  that  precious  charge  placed  under  your 
control,  from  the  skillful  play  on  the  heartstrings 
of  the  young  and  the  enthusiasm  for  knowledge 
and  the  inspiration  of  thought  you  will  awaken, 
there  will  come  forth  mighty  men  and  women — 
lawyers  standing  at  the  head  of  their  profession; 
physicians  intelligently  ministering  to  the  sick; 
ministers  of  the  Gospel  eloquently  proclaiming  God's 
mercy  to  a  lost  world ;  statesmen  who  will  lay,  in  the 
depths  of  truth  and  right,  the  foundations  of  govern- 
ment. Only  one  step  removed  from  the  plane  of 
man's  greatest  achievements — and  fundamental  to 
such  achievements,  contributing  most  largely  to 
those  achievements — are  the  work  and  influence  of 
the  devoted,  skillful  teacher. 


36  Choosing  a  Lifework 


CHAPTER  III 

The  Teacher 

It  is  not  easy  to  express  in  precise  terms  the 
qualifications  of  an  ideal  teacher.  Indeed,  such 
qualifications  are  not  fixed  in  quantity  nor  invari- 
able in  quality.  Conditions  and  relations  must  be 
taken  into  account.  If  teaching  can  be  reduced  to 
a  science — and  this  can  be  done  only  approximately 
— it  still  does  not  follow  that  scientific  tests  of 
qualifications  can  be  applied  so  as  to  draw  a  scale  of 
fitness  which  is  worth  much  for  practical  results. 

The  first  requisite  for  success  in  the  teaching 
profession  is  a  clear  apprehension  of  the  end  to  be 
secured.  This  end  is  mental  development,  the  un- 
folding of  the  energies  of  life  implanted  in  the  soul 
by  the  Maker  of  us  all.  It  is  mind-building.  What 
the  child  can  best  do  for  a  livelihood  can  be  settled 
later.  The  great  problem  that  confronts  us  in  all 
our  school  systems  is,  What  does  the  mind  need? 
Having  reached  the  answer  to  this  question,  it 
ought  to  be  comparatively  easy  to  solve  the  next 
problem — to  find  a  method  of  supplying  the  mind 
with  what  it  needs ;  for  truth  comes  in  upon  us  from 
every  side. 

First.  The  teacher  should  be  able  to  train  the 
child  to  see  clearly  and  sharply.  Knowledge  should 
be  gained  in  the  schoolroom,  but  the  sharpening  of 


The   Teacher  37 

the  intellectual  powers,  the  invigorating  of  the  think- 
ing faculties,  is  not  less  a  specific  object  of  school 
work.  It  has  been  said  that  without  the  touch  of 
the  outer  world  there  can  be  no  awakening  of  the 
inner  life ;  and  when  we  say  that  every  child  should 
be  trained  to  see  we  mean  much  more  than  that  his 
vision  must  be  attracted  by  the  panorama  of  objects 
that  pass  by  him,  more  than  that  all  the  senses  must 
be  impressed.  We  mean  that  he  must  be  taught  to 
find  not  objects  only,  but  objects  in  their  class  re- 
lations. As  these  external  realities  beat  in  upon 
his  senses  he  must  be  able  to  discriminate,  to  deter- 
mine the  relation  of  one  to  the  other,  to  know  this 
world  in  its  interdependence.  An  image  formed 
upon  the  retina,  a  specific  impression  of  sound  upon 
the  auditory  nerve,  the  excitation  of  sensations  in 
the  finger  tips — this  physiological  stimulation  is  not 
perception.  Perception  is  a  mind  act,  determining 
the  nature  of  things  through  the  conditions  thus 
supplied.  It  is  not  the  product  of  conditions;  the 
work  itself  is  purely  mental.  The  eye  may  be  wide 
open  without  seeing;  the  ear  may  be  healthy  and 
excited  without  hearing.  It  is  discriminating  atten- 
tion that  is  the  gist  of  observation,  and  this  is  an 
intellectual  act.  Multitudes  of  people  go  round 
the  ^orld  without  perceiving  much  that  comes  with- 
in their  reach  though  they  have  good  eyesight.  Had 
they  been  blind,  the  trip  would  scarcely  have  brought 
less  profit. 

Training  the  child  to  see  is  training  him  to  ex- 


38  Choosing  a  Lifework 

amine  and  read  the  nature  of  the  objects  which  com- 
pose the  constantly  changing  environment  of  his 
being.  Nothing  should  escape  his  attention,  and 
nothing  should  be  allowed  to  baffle  his  efforts  in 
determining  the  place  of  objects  in  the  wonderful 
system  of  creation.  To  do  this  is  the  primary  func- 
tion of  the  intellect,  with  which  the  work  of  our 
mental  life  starts,  never  to  be  suspended  while  in- 
telligence lasts.  Much  of  education  consists  of  the 
training  of  the  powers  of  perception  to  see  sharply 
and  clearly,  and  to  do  this  is  a  special  work  of  the 
teacher. 

Perception  thus  penetrates  into  and  is  fully  real- 
ized in  what  we  call  the  understanding,  the  logical 
faculties  of  the  mind.  Through  resemblances  and 
differences  in  the  complex  unit,  determined  by  in- 
ductive processes  of  thought,  the  temple  of  truth  has 
been  reared,  and  what  we  call  knowledge  has  been 
developed.  Knowledge  can  be  obtained  because  in 
the  midst  of  innumerable  differences  there  are  agree- 
ments, positive  relationships,  vital  connections, 
radical  interdependences,  one  thing  illustrating  and 
explaining  another,  nothing  existing  alone.  Nature 
is  a  universe,  an  undissevered  whole.  You  can  ^dis- 
solve a  political  unit,  but  you  cannot  cut  a  world  or 
an  atom  off  from  the  rest  and  send  it  into  banish- 
ment. And  this  is  true  in  all  history,  in  all  the 
events  and  interests  of  human  life.  To  understand, 
to  reason  accurately,  to  know,  is  to  find  these  in- 
terdependences, to  give  each  its  place  and  value  in 


The  TEAtnfAX  59 

this  ever-changing  whole.  On  the  intellectual  side 
this,  more  than  anything  else,  is  what  education  is 
for.  It  is  the  training  of  a  thinker.  In  its  mani- 
festations and  results  it  is  the  developed  power  of 
handling  the  great  complex  problems  of  being. 
There  is  no  grander  outcome  of  mind-building,  and 
the  teacher  must  know  and  realize  that  he  is  called 
upon  to  do  much  more  than  to  see  that  the  pupil 
stores  his  memory  with  facts.  Knowledge  must 
have  a  wider  meaning  than  this ;  it  must  become  the 
content  of  the  mind  of  a  thinker,  of  a  mind  that  finds 
the  translucence  of  the  universal — or,  at  least,  the 
general — in  every  particular. 

But  the  work  of  the  teacher  is  not  completed  when 
the  pupil  gains  the  power  to  see  and  to  know.  Life  is 
action.  The  most  significant  word  in  our  language 
is  character.  What  the  mind  can  do,  what  it  is  dis- 
posed to  do,  and  what  it  regularly  and  with  a  purpose 
is  doing — all  of  this  is  involved.  The  direction  in 
which  the  life  is  sweeping  and  the  energy  of  its 
movements,  inclusive  of  its  mental  grasp,  together 
with  the  purpose  which  rules  in  the  heart,  and  the 
firmness  of  its  tread — tell  us  this  and  we  will  tell 
you  what  the  character  is.  Education  is  complete 
only  as  it  makes  virtuous  and  strong  character;  only 
as  it  gives  rational  direction  to  the  life  and  makes  it 
irresistible  in  the  pursuit  of  right.  There  is  no  other 
sufficient  justification  of  our  public  school  system. 
This  is  to  provide  intelligent  citizenship  as  a  founda- 
tion for  government,  by  which  the  ends  of  govern- 


40  Choosing  a  Lifework 

ment  can  be  realized.  The  nation  will  not  train  up 
soldiers  simply  to  give  them  a  knowledge  of  military 
afifairs ;  it  expects  patriotic  service.  We  demand  that 
the  graduate  of  West  Point  shall  respond  to  the 
call  the  country  may  make  in  time  of  war.  Out 
from  our  schools  and  colleges  should  come  forth 
young  men  and  women  not  simply  equipped  for  pub- 
lic service,  but  eager  to  act  in  the  defense  of  right, 
upholding  the  best  interests  of  society. 

The  teacher  must  be  qualified  to  lead  out  in  these 
great  lines  of  life.     He  must  be  able  to  do  much 
more  than  to  determine  in  the  recitation  room  that 
the  student  has  faithfully  studied  his  text-book  and 
has  transferred  the  contents  of  the  printed  page  to 
his  memory;  he  must  be  able  to  do  more  than  to 
explain   intelligently  the  meaning  of  the  text;  he 
must  take  hold  of  the  life  of  the  pupil  and  lead  it 
up  into  a  higher  intellectual  and  moral  state.     To 
do  this  he  must  himself  possess  sharp  intellectual! 
powers  trained  for  the  most  effective  activity,  with' 
a  will  swaying  the  whole  mind  for  right  and  duty; 
he  must  possess  the  loftiest  manhood.     To  be  less  \ 
than  this  is  a  disability  disqualifying  for  the  work 
that  a  teacher  should  be  expected  to  perform. 

Second.  Extensive  scholastic  preparation  is 
needed.  This  proposition  does  not  call  for  much 
discussion.  It  is  essentially  self-evident.  To  teach 
without  knowledge  is  impossible;  and  he  whose 
knowledge  does  not  extend  beyond  the  facts  and 
principles  to  be  imparted  in  the  class  room  is  poorly 


The   Teacher  41 

equipped  for  the  position  held.  You  cannot  run 
an  engine  on  the  last  pound  of  steam  in  the  boiler. 
The  instructor  who  exhausts  his  scholarship  by  the 
end  of  the  hour  defrauds  the  school  board  and  gives 
short  weight  to  the  pupils.  Colleges  of  the  best 
rank  never  think  of  electing  to  a  professorship  any 
person  on  the  day  of  his  graduation.  A  college 
teacher  must  know  immeasurably  more  than  he  has 
time  or  opportunity  to  impart,  in  order  to  be 
qualified  to  give  adequate  instruction.  You  may 
sell  one  hundred  bushels  of  wheat  if  you  have  that 
amount  on  hand,  but  you  cannot  raise  one  hundred 
bushels  from  the  soil  if  the  soil  contains  in  the  ag- 
gregate material  only  for  one  hundred  bushels.  It 
must  be  rich  in  the  elements  of  fertility  during  the 
entire  time  the  crop  is  growing,  even  to  the  last  day. 
He  who  has  studied  one  year  of  Latin  makes  a  fatal 
blunder  in  estimating  himself  qualified  to  teach  a 
year  of  Latin.  To  keep  just  ahead  of  the  class  is 
not  keeping  fully  ahead  of  the  class;  at  least,  it  is 
not  being  so  largely  stocked  with  knowledge  as  to 
supply  all  the  wants  of  the  pupil.  The  teachers' 
occupation  can  never  become  a  vigorous  profession 
until  teachers  themselves  occupy  a  much  higher 
plane  of  scholarship  than  any  of  the  pupils  occupy 
on  the  day  of  their  graduation.  A  college  teacher 
should  have  years  of  postgraduate  work;  a  high 
school  teacher  should  carry  his  studies  much  above 
the  plane  of  the  high  school ;  and  the  primary  teacher 
should  by  no  means  rely  on  knowledge  gained  while 


42  Choosing  a  Lifework 

going  through  the  primary  branches.  The  work 
of  the  schools  is  greatly  weakened  all  through  this 
country  by  the  employment  of  persons  possessing  in- 
adequate scholarship.  Not  only  is  defective  service 
rendered,  but  the  teacher,  in  the  eyes  of  the  pupil, 
is  sure  to  drop  down  to  the  low  rank  which  his  in- 
competence assigns,  at  the  same  time  greatly  injur- 
ing the  profession  itself.  This  class  of  persons  has 
no  right  to  be  in  the  schoolroom. 

Germane  to  this  there  is  another  principle  to 
which  we  should  give  expression :  the  teacher  sht)uld 
not  only  be  a  scholar,  he  must  also  be  a  student.  The 
most  extensive  preparation  before  entering  the  pro- 
fession is  not  a  complete  fitness  for  the  future.  By 
this  it  is  not  meant  that  the  teacher  day  by  day 
should  become  familiar  with  the  lesson  to  be  taught. 
To  neglect  this,  of  course,  would  be  criminal.  But 
he  who  is  not  in  love  with  the  truth  so  as  to  make 
him  eager-  for  its  further  pursuit  cannot  awaken  in 
the  mind  of  a  student  a  thirst  for  knowledge.  And 
scholarship  is  not  a  fixed  quantity  like  a  rock  em- 
bedded in  the  earth,  becoming  neither  more  nor  less. 
We  do  not  rest  in  scholarship  as  an  invariable  pos- 
session. As  the  lake  becomes  dry  unless  there  be 
poured  into  it  a  continuous  supply  of  water,  so  the 
scholar  will  gradually  become  unscholarly  who,  even 
on  the  basis  of  the  broadest  knowledge  at  first 
gained,  gives  himself  up  to  mental  inactivity. 

It  is  necessary  for  us  to  bear  this  in  mind,  that 
what  we  teach  to-day  will  not,  in  many  respects, 


The   Teacher  43 

answer  for  to-morrow.  Civilization  is  progressive. 
New  fields  are  constantly  opening  before  us.  The 
universe  of  truth  for  us  is  enlarging,  and  the  fields 
already  traversed  have  not  given  up  their  full  con- 
tent. Further  explorations  bring  to  light  mines 
hitherto  undiscovered.  If  imbued  with  the  spirit 
of  scholarship,  with  an  eager  thirst  for  fuller  com- 
munion with  truth  and  a  determined  ambition  to  be 
and  keep  at  the  front,  you  will  secure  most  impor- 
tant qualifications  for  your  work. 

One  other  requisite  not  less  vital  than  the  fore- 
going we  will  here  mention.     It  is: 

Third.  A  love  for  your  work.  Without  this 
it  is  impossible  to  achieve  large  success  in  this  pro- 
fession. Some  things  can  be  done  comparatively 
well  purely  under  stress  of  will.  A  man  can  do  a 
good  day's  work  in  the  blacksmith  shop  though  he 
does  not  like  the  trade.  The  live  coals  heat  the 
iron ;  the  steady  blow  gives  it  the  shape  desired,  the 
metal  responding  to  the  mechanical  force  applied. 
In  no  way  does  the  iron  catch  the  spirit  of  the 
artisan,  yet  no  man  has  reached  the  highest  skill  as 
a  laborer  who  disliked  his  employment.  This  last 
statement  is  true  of  teachers  more  than  of  any  other 
class.  It  is  not  what  you  say  in  the  schoolroom 
half  so  much  as  the  spirit  with  which  you  penetrate 
into  the  life  of  the  child  that  molds  the  immortal 
nature.  Truth  is  shorn  of  its  power  when  it  goes 
forth  from  unwilling  or  indifferent  lips.  The  child 
is  a  philosopher,  not  an  educated  but  a  born  philoso- 


44  Choosing  a  Lifework 

pher.  Whether  or  not  he  intelhgently  reads  your 
mind  he  finds  and  feels  its  throbbings;  he  responds 
to  the  spirit  you  bear;  there  is  painted  on  his  being 
the  portraiture  of  your  inner  self.  If  you  are  in- 
different to  truth,  the  child  will  be  indifferent  to 
truth.  If  teaching  be  a  drudgery  to  you,  learning 
will  be  a  drudgery  to  him.  But  if  you  delight  in  the 
truth,  if  your  soul  is  inspired  by  it  and  rational  in- 
telligence beams  from  your  face,  if  you  find  teaching 
a  heavenly  occupation,  there  will  be  in  the  school- 
room a  heavenly  atmosphere,  and  the  young  under 
your  guidance  will  follow  you  with  joyful  feet;  yea, 
out  from  your  soul  will  go  forth  an  energy  that 
makes  scholarship  and  character  which  will  be  of 
priceless  worth.  The  teacher  is  entitled  to  his 
wages — ordinarily,  I  think,  twice  as  much  as  he 
gets — ^but  if  your  fidelity  and  zeal  rest  back  on  the 
money,  and  are  born  of  the  money  that  is  commer- 
cially paid  into  your  hands,  your  wages  will  be  twice 
what  you  earn;  for  failure  will  follow  your  steps 
wherever  you  go.  But  to  be  permitted  to  contribute 
to  the  civilization  of  the  race  at  its  very  fountain 
head ;  to  stimulate  the  thinking  and  mold  the  char- 
acter at  the  most  responsive  period  of  life ;  to  estab- 
lish a  trend  that  will  result  in  scholarship,  good 
citizenship,  and  intelligent  and  noble  living — is  there 
not  in  this  much  to  make  you  feel  that  the  lines  have 
fallen  to  you  in  pleasant  places,  and  to  lead  you  to 
say  that  you  would  not  exchange  your  lot  for  the 
lordly  kingship  of  the  great  nations  of  the  earth? 


The   Teacher  45 

You  should  feel  both  a  responsibility  and  a  de- 
light in  realizing  the  end  of  which  we  have  spoken. 
We  have  said  to  you  that  character  is  more  than 
scholarship,  and  that  if  you  do  not  have  in  view  the  . 
training  of  character,  you  have  utterly  misconceived ,/ 
the  legitimate  purpose  of  your  mission.  If  you  suc- 
ceed in  molding  into  manliness  and  womanliness  the 
young;  if  you  lead  them  to  look  upward  instead  of 
downward,  aspiring  for  the  best,  you  will  have 
wrought  in  society  that  for  which  angels  will  re- 
joice and  coming  ages  be  profoundly  grateful.  Then 
it  will  be  evident  you  did  not  miss  your  calling.  To 
aim  simply  to  make  scholars,  we  have  said,  is  not 
the  noblest  purpose ;  but  to  shape  character  embody- 
ing the  intelligence  of  the  scholar  and  the  might  of 
a  righteous  will — this  is  what  a  teacher  is  expected 
to  do  so  far  as  one  soul  can  influence  another. .  Says 
Emerson,  ^'Character  is  higher  than  intellect.  A 
great  soul  will  be  strong  to  live  as  well  as  to  think." 
It  is  the  teacher's  mission  to  impress  this  on  the 
young  life. 

Another  fact  we  introduce  just  here,  that  to 
reach  the  end  we  have  held  up  before  you,  both  for 
scholarship  and  the  guidance  of  your  charge,  you 
must  gain  an  influence  over  your  pupils  that  is 
practically  irresistible.  How?  Through  the  fear 
of  your  authority?  Remember,  you  cannot  lead  and 
drive  at  the  same  time.  When  the  schoolroom  is 
a  slave  pen  manhood  beats  a  retreat.  No  more 
certainly  is  it  true  that  marriage  is  a  failure  unless 


46  Choosing  a  Lifework 

the  bride  is  wooed,  and  then  held  by  the  same  spirit 
by  which  she  was  won,  than  that  unfeeUng  despo- 
tism will  paralyze  the  arm  that  wields  the  scepter 
over  the  minds  of  your  pupils.  In  a  word,  you  must 
get  into  their  hearts  if  you  would  do  them  good. 
Said  an  eminent  lawyer  when  he  found  that  a  cer- 
tain attorney  was  on  the  opposite  side,  ''I  know  the 
law  is  on  my  side,  and  I  have  the  testimony;  but 
my  opponent  always  gets  to  be  so  thick  with  the 
jury  that  I  am  afraid  he  will  win  the  case."  A 
teacher  must  become  *'thick"  with  her  pupils.  The 
closest  bonds  of  sympathy  should  be  established. 
They  must  be  led  to  look  up  to  the  teacher  with  per- 
fect, with  loving  confidence.  Knowing  that  the 
deep  interest  felt  in  them  is  for  their  good,  love  will 
be  awakened  in  return ;  and  then  the  power  at  your 
command  will  be  almost  unlimited. 

We  would  emphasize  this  statement,  that  the  first 
thing  a  teacher  needs  to  do  is  to  capture  the  heart. 
She  must  make  herself  to  be  a  felt  necessity  to  each 
young  life,  not  allowing  any  other  friend  to  become 
dearer  or  be  more  implicitly  trusted;  not  sympathy 
evanescent  in  words,  but  glowing  in  the  soul.  Few 
can  resist  the  warm  tide  of  personal  interest  which 
has  its  fountain  in  the  heart.  Beyond  everything 
else  this  influence  must  be  sought,  not  by  flattery  of 
speech,  but  by  helpful  acts — the  life  flowing  out  in 
streams  of  blessing  to  each  one  under  your  care. 

Is  it  wise  to  choose  the  teaching  profession  ?  Yes, 
if  you  are  willing  to  pay  the  price;  if  you  have  the 


The   Teacher  47 

needed  scholastic  preparation ;  if  you  love  the  work 
and  are  prepared  for  the  great  responsibilities  to  be 
borne.  No,  if  the  heart  inclines  in  some  other  di- 
rection; if  the  labor  to  be  performed  would  be  a 
drudgery,  or  if  moneyed  compensation  stands  out  as 
the  chief  inducement. 


48  Choosing  a  Lifework 


CHAPTER    IV 

The  Ministry 

The  human  race  at  its  very  outset  made  a  lamen- 
table failure.  God  had  created  man  in  his  own 
image,  making  him  the  crowning  work  of  his  hands 
and  fitting  him  for  a  glorious  destiny.  But,  un- 
willing to  brook  restraint,  he  defied  God's  authority 
and  entered  upon  a  career  that  led  down  to  death. 
That  divine  purposes  should  not  be  thwarted,  the 
Supreme  Being  then  set  in  operation  a  scheme  for 
the  moral  reconstruction  of  the  race.  In  this  scheme 
there  were  two  great  factors:  first,  the  incarnation 
of  his  Son,  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  for  the  re- 
•  demption  of  the  human  family ;  and,  second,  the  giv- 
ing to  us  a  record  of  his  plans  and  a  body  of  truth 
that  we  might  find  the  way  of  salvation  opened  for 
us  in  the  redemption  of  the  world. 

The  Old  Testament  is  devoted  mostly  to  the  pro- 
visions inaugurated  for  the  coming  of  Christ.  Out 
from  the  idolatrous  nations  of  the  earth  a  people  is 
called,  hedged  in,  guarded  from  social  contact  with 
others,  made  to  lead  a  separate  life,  and  divinely 
taught  and  governed,  as  a  social,  historic,  and  the- 
ocratic preparation  for  the  coming  of  the  Saviour 
of  men.  We  find  God  working  on  the  most  difficult 
of  all  problems,  the  development  and  lifting  up  of  a 
people  to  a  high  plane  of  moral  life  by  internal  cul- 


The   Ministry  49 

ture,  while  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  nations 
steeped  in  idolatry  and  exerting  an  influence  debas- 
ing in  the  extreme.  The  Old  Testament  is  not  a 
theological  compend;  it  is  not  a  system  of  abstract 
religious  principles;  it  is  largely  a  record  of  a  con- 
crete historic  movement  for  the  gradual  elevation  of 
a  people  out  from  very  unfavorable  conditions.  The 
process  was  carried  forward  principally  through  in- 
struction, precepts,  and  judgments.  The  agency  of 
instruction  was  a  body  of  divinely  appointed  proph- 
ets. The  office  of  a  prophet  was  not  mainly  to  fore- 
tell future  events — this  only  so  far  as  it  would  bear 
practically  on  the  government  of  the  people^ — ^but 
to  teach,  to  proclaim  in  the  ears  of  the  Israelites 
divine  messages  for  their  guidance.  A  prophet  was 
a  minister  of  the  old  dispensation. 

Fifteen  hundred  years  or  more  had  passed  since 
the  call  of  Abraham  to  be  the  father  of  a  chosen 
people  before  the  ''fullness  of  time''  had  come  for 
the  appearance  of  Christ  on  the  earth.  At  the  very 
dawn  of  history  God  had  declared  that  the  seed  of 
the  woman  should  bruise  the  serpent's  head.  In 
the  progress  of  the  national  life  of  the  Jews  there 
comes  to  be  a  vivid  expectation  of  the  appearance 
of  a  great  leader  to  secure  the  fulfillment  of  their 
hopes  for  triumph  over  hostile  peoples,  and  for  the 
avenging  of  wrongs  they  had  suffered.  He  was  to 
be  the  ''Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah;"  he  was  spoken 
of  as  "Wonderful,  Counselor,  The  mighty  God,  The 
everlasting  Father,  The  Prince  of  Peace;"  his  do- 


50  Choosing  a  Lifework 

minion  was  to  be  '^from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  the  river 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth/' 

There  were  some  representations  that  had  to  their 
ears  a  strange  sound :  he  would  be  lowly,  having  no 
form  or  comeliness,  despised  and  rejected  of  men; 
but  these  all  yielded  to  the  more  flattering  char- 
acterizations of  a  mighty  conqueror  who  would  sub- 
due all  the  nations  into  abject  submission  to  his 
power.  They  did  not  doubt  that  there  would  ap- 
pear a  great  military  leader  through  whom  this  uni- 
versal conquest  would  be  gained.  But  when  the 
babe  born  in  the  stable  in  Bethlehem  began  to  attract 
the  attention  of  the  people  and  it  was  said  that  he 
was  the  King  of  the  Jews,  lowly  of  parentage,  as  he 
grew  to  manhood  spending  his  years  as  a  laborer  in 
the  shop  of  Joseph,  with  no  influential  friends,  no 
glamor  of  royalty  gathering  about  him,  living  in 
the  vale  of  poverty  and  associating  with  those  who 
enjoyed  no  social  distinctions,  the  pride  of  the 
people  was  deeply  wounded  by  the  claim  that  he 
was  to  be  their  King. 

In  due  time  Christ  proclaimed  his  mission  of  sal- 
vation, gathered  about  him  some  disciples,  appointed 
twelve  apostles  to  be  his  personal  representatives, 
and  devoted  his  time  to  the  teaching  of  the  people, 
performing  acts  of  mercy,  until  finally  he  is  seized, 
condemned  to  die,  and  crucified  with  malefactors. 
His  last  words  before  he  disappeared  from  the  earth 
were:  ''Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the 
Gospel  to  every  creature.     He  that  believeth  and  is 


The   Ministry  51 

baptized  shall  be  saved;  but  he  that  believeth  not 
shall  be  damned/'  On  this,  and  this  only,  does  he 
"rest  the  outcome  of  his  mission  and  the  success  or 
failure  of  the  divine  plan. 

The  world  is  to  be  saved  by  preaching.  In  view 
of  all  the  conditions  existing  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Christian  era  this  is  an  extraordinary  expecta- 
tion. Nothing  that  could  be  thought  of  was  so 
unlikely  to  occur  as  that  the  world  should  be  revo- 
lutionized by  such  an  agency.  There  stood  in  the 
way  the  perversity  of  the  human  heart,  the  bitter 
antagonism  of  Judea,  and  the  organic  life  of  all 
pagan  governments  that  not  only  tolerated  idolatry, 
which  was  universal,  but  had  incorporated  or  ab- 
sorbed idolatry  into  their  very  being.  To  Chris- 
tianize a  country  was  not  only  to  overthrow  its  re- 
ligion, but  to  demolish  or  reconstruct  the  state.  The 
claims  of  Christianity  were  revolutionary;  to  avow 
them  was  practically  treason.  Thus  paganism 
stood,  with  uplifted  hand,  wielding  the  entire  power 
of  the  state  to  crush  out  the  least  manifestation  of 
Christian  spirit  and  influence.  Judaism  was  hostile 
because  Jesus  Christ  sadly  disappointed  the  hopes  of 
the  people  and  demanded  a  complete  inversion  of 
the  life.  Pagan  governments  were  hostile  because 
the  Gospel  sapped  the  very  foundation  of  their  ex- 
istence, introducing  confusion  into  their  afifairs, 
paralyzing  the  arm  of  the  politician,  and  seeming  to 
lead  to  civil  anarchy. 

But,  much  more  unpromising  still,  the  apostles 


$2  Choosing  a  Lifework 

could  not  hold  up  before  the  people  the  brilliant 
career  of  a  leader  so  as  to  impress  the  world  by  the 
grandeur  of  his  movements;  they  could  only  point 
to  One  who  had  been  put  to  death,  and  whose  earthly 
reign,  as  men  judge  of  positions — if  worthy  of  being 
called  sovereignty — had  come  to  an  ignominious 
end.  How,  with  such  a  major  proposition,  can  the 
logic  of  the  minister  sweep  away  opposition  and 
compel  the  acceptance  of  Christ  ?  Such  was  the  un-  ■ 
promising  outlook  at  the  beginning  of  the  Christian 
era.  The  work,  if  ever  accomplished,  must  over- 
come the  greatest  obstacles  of  which  the  mind  has 
any  conception.  But  the  last  nineteen  hundred 
years  has  its  history;  has  the  preaching  of  Christ 
been  an  ineffective  agency  for  the  moral  and  civil 
reconstruction  of  the  world? 

Just  here  we  may  say  that  that  which  seemed  to 
be  the  weakness  of  the  scheme  has  proved  to  be  its 
greatest  strength.  The  cross,  the  symbol  and  agency 
of  disgrace,  became  the  concrete  unfolding  of  a 
glory  such  as  none  other  than  Christ  could  bear 
among  men,  and  which  has  been  shattering  princi- 
palities and  taking  hold  of  the  deepest  forces  of  hu- 
man life.  What  is  the  specific  office  of  the  minis- 
try? It  is  to  hold  up  to  the  world  Christ  as  pre- 
sented in  the  Bible.  "God  so  loved  the  world,  that 
he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  be- 
lieveth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting 
life."  Only  incidentally,  not  as  a  primary  object  of 
thought,  is  anything  else  to  be  taught.     Christ  is  the 


The   Ministry  53 

theme,  the  Bible  the  text-book.  The  work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  the  magnifying  of  Christ,  holding 
him  before  the  gaze  and  bringing  him  to  the  hearts 
of  men.  The  purpose  of  the  ministry  is  to  carry 
forward  to  a  realized  end,  to  consummate  the  work 
for  which  Christ  came  to  this  earth.  The  Son  of 
God  is  the  Alpha  and  Omega  of  it  all ;  the  ministry 
is  the  agency  of  accomplishment.  The  pulpit  is  not 
a  forum  for  the  discussion  of  every  form  of  truth; 
it  is  not  a  platform  on  which  the  moralist  shall  pro- 
claim ethical  doctrines,  simply  as  such,  to  inquiring 
minds.  The  ministry  is  not  a  university  for  all  knowl- 
edge, but  a  voice  ever  ringing  in  the  ears  of  dying 
men,  ''Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away 
the  sin  of  the  world !"  It  has  one  mission,  and  only 
one — to  turn  the  gaze  of  men  on  the  crucified 
Christ,  that  the  infinite  love  of  God  may  win  them 
to  righteousness  through  the  abounding  mercy  of 
him  who  was  sent  to  be  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 
This  was  the  scheme  to  save  the  race,  not  by  phi- 
losophy, not  by  scenic  displays  of  divine  power,  but 
by  preaching — by  preaching  Christ  as  known  to  us 
in  the  Bible.  Correct  systems  of  theology  will  not 
do  it;  faultless  creeds  cannot  accomplish  the  work; 
the  unfolding  of  the  mysteries  of  science  comes  far 
short  of  the  end  God  had  in  view.  Botany  tells  us 
about  the  plant  world,  zoology  of  the  animal  king- 
dom; chemistry  lets  us  into  the  secret  of  unnum- 
bered combinations  of  molecules  of  matter;  biology 
makes  known   the  principles   of  organic  life,   and 


54  Choosing  a  Lifework 

brings  to  view  the  marvelous  diversity  and  perfec- 
tion of  God's  thoughts  as  realized  in  this  part  of 
the  domain  of  nature;  astronomy  presents  the 
order  and  movement  of  the  worlds  in  space;  but 
there  is  nothing  spiritually  regenerating  in  the 
widest  knowledge  of  this  material  universe.  Phi- 
losophy, history,  science,  knowledge  simply  as  knowl- 
edge, does  not  make  character  or  purify  the  soul 
from  the  defilement  of  sin.  With  all  of  this  in  the 
largest  measure,  if  there  be  nothing  more,  the  world 
sinks  into  the  deepest  spiritual  night  and  is  lost. 
The  one  theme  of  the  ministry  into  which  all  other 
themes  must  sink,  or  from  which  they  must  take 
their  rise,  is  Christ  the  Redeemer  of  men. 

In  affirming  the  foregoing  as  an  indisputable  pos- 
tulate we  do  not  narrow  the  scope  of  the  ministry. 
Christ  is  the  heart  and  soul  of  the  Bible,  and  yet 
the  variety  and  range  of  its  teachings  are  nearly 
infinite;  but  all  parts  of  it  are  linked  with  the  life 
and  mission  of  the  Messiah.  So  the  ministry 
spreads  over  all  parts  of  this  divine  word,  but  no 
portion  may  be  detached  from  Christ.  There  is  no 
truth  in  the  Scriptures  standing  out  alone;  all  is  here 
because  the  Son  of  God  is  here,  and  unless  so  con- 
ceived and  taught  the  purpose  of  the  contents  of  the 
Bible  is  misunderstood  and  the  dynamic  unity  of 
the  whole  is  utterly  disregarded.  Whatever  dis- 
cussion the  minister  gives  Christ  must  be  in  sight; 
the  minister  must  at  all  times  be  within  the  shadow 
of  the  cross. 


The   Ministry  55 

What  is  the  work  to  be  accompHshed  by  means  of 
the  ministry  ?  In  answering  this  question  let  us  be 
specific. 

First.  Its  aim  is  to  make  men  holy.  It  secures 
the  moral  and  spiritual  regeneration  of  the  race, 
preparing  for  a  life  of  righteousness  here  and  the 
blessedness  of  heaven  hereafter.  Can  any  work  be 
grander  than  this?  Certainly  nothing  can  be  more 
radical,  reaching  down  to  profounder  depths  of 
being.  To  achieve  this  the  ministry  must  recognize 
the  awful  guilt  of  sin  and  its  damning  power.  It 
must  not  banish  from  sight  the  fearful  turpitude  of 
disloyalty  to  the  divine  government.  It  must  not 
treat  sin  simply  as  a  disease — though  it  be  a  fatal 
disease — but  as  guilt  of  the  deepest  dye.  And  then 
it  must  bring  Christ  as  the  Saviour  of  the  soul; 
Christ  coming  with  tender  pity,  with  infinite  solici- 
tude and  love,  to  rescue  from  death.  Preach  the 
love  of  God?  Yes;  but  how  can  it  be  preached  in 
its  fullness,  even  with  any  definite  meaning,  unless 
the  sinner  be  led  to  see  the  self-incurred  horror  that 
awaits  him  through  the  execution  of  the  law  he  has 
trampled  under  foot?  Because  sin  is  so  terrible, 
so  destructive,  to  be  followed  by  such  fearful  tor- 
ments, God's  love  is  shown  to  be  so  great.  It  is 
measured,  it  can  only  be  measured,  by  the  woe  from 
which  divine  mercy  would  deliver  the  guilty  soul. 
It  dishonors  God  to  preach  his  love  as  though  re- 
demption meant  nothing,  as  though  it  were  a  mere 
sentiment  instead  of  a  mighty  delivering  power. 


56  Choosing  a  Lifework 

And  it  is  cruel  to  hide  from  the  sinner  his  danger. 
He  will  not  stop  to  notice  the  outstretched  arms  of 
Christ  unless  he  hears  the  thunders  of  the  judgment 
day.     For  love  like  this 

'*  Let  rocks  and  hills 
Their  lasting  silence  break, 
And  all  harmonious  human  tongues 
The  Saviour's  praises  speak." 

This  is  the  first  and  direct  purpose  of  the  ministry, 
to  secure  the  regeneration  of  the  life  and  ultimate 
rewards  in  heaven. 

Second.  Out  of  the  regeneration  of  heart  and 
life  there  will  come  a  sociological  reconstruction 
of  the  race.  We  sustain  relations  one  to  the  other 
not  only  through  the  genesis  of  life  by  human 
parentage,  but  in  the  social  and  interdependent  na- 
ture with  which  we  are  endowed.  Not  more  strictly 
is  each  human  being  an  individual  than  he  is  a 
constituent  of  the  entire  family  of  man.  To  attempt 
social  independence  would  be  a  violation  of  law  and 
a  shirking  of  divinely  imposed  responsibilities.  The 
bringing  of  men  to  live  together  in  harmonious 
brotherhood  would  be  to  abolish  our  criminal  courts, 
tear  down  our  jails  and  prisons,  and  save  a  large 
part  of  the  expenses  of  government.  But  this  is 
only  half  of  it.  Not  only  would  life  and  property  be 
made  safe,  but  cooperation  for  the  good  of  all  would 
become  universal ;  the  tongue  of  the  slanderer  would 
be  silenced;  selfishness  as  appearing  in  business  or 
political   movements  would  be   rooted  out  of  the 


The   Ministry  57 

heart;  capital  and  labor  would  settle  their  disputes, 
and  harmony  would  everywhere  prevail.  Law  as 
a  mode  of  the  exercise  of  power  cannot  establish  the 
spirit  of  brotherhood  among  men ;  the  Gospel  alone 
can  create  a  bond  by  taking  evil  out  of  the  hearts  of 
the  people,  causing  each  person  to  love  his  neighbor 
as  himself.  Thus  the  ministry  seeks  to  supply,  the 
living  forces  of  good  government.  Its  purpose  is 
not  simply  negative,  operating  to  repress  wrong,  but 
positive  in  bringing  blessings  to  the  people.  *'Thou 
shalt  not"  is  only  one  side  of  God's  commands. 
'Thou  shalt"  breathes  the  spirit  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment; in  it  there  is  the  heart  of  Christ.  The  first 
may  be  nothing  more  than  inaction;  the  second  is 
a  putting  forth  of  effort.  And  it  is  the  object  of  the 
ministry  to  awaken  an  intense  zeal  for  right,  for 
humanity  and  God's  service,  so  that  righteousness 
and  duty  may  be,  everywhere,  a  mighty  aggressive 
power  for  good. 

Third.  Just  so  far  as  the  ministry  is  successful 
will  the  Gospel  awaken  the  activities  of  progress, 
resulting  in  a  grander  civilization.  The  foregoing 
discussions  show  that  the  Bible  deals  not  only  with 
eternal  interests,  but  with  the  things  of  this  life. 
As  the  result  of  its  provisions  there  should  be  better 
neighborhoods,  more  peaceful  and  prosperous  home 
life,  and  more  of  that  which  is  noble  in  the  demeanor 
and  spirit  of  each  member  of  the  community;  and 
still  further,  there  should  grow  out  of  it  a  larger 
measure  of  intelligence  and  an  increasing  develop- 


58  Choosing  a  Lifework 

ment  of  the  power  of  thought.  Civilization  is  men- 
tal, shown  in  the  concrete  of  human  products  in  all 
the  acts  and  achievements  of  men.  It  appears  in 
the  governments  formed,  in  the  inventions  made, 
in  the  development  of  raw  material  from  the  soil, 
in  the  manufactures  and  commerce  of  the  world,  not 
less  than  in  the  schools  organized,  the  papers  issued, 
and  the  books  written.  The  manifestation  is  com- 
plex and  varied,  but  it  is  all  the  product  of  the  intel- 
lect. It  requires  only  a  cursory  survey  of  the  theater 
of  human  life  to  discover  that  Christian  lands  are 
the  home  of  all  that  is  most  advanced  in  science  and 
the  arts.  The  power  of  steam  was  discovered  here; 
the  prevalence  and  energy  of  electricity  were  here 
brought  to  light.  In  Christian  lands  steamboats 
w^ere  first  constructed,  railroads  built,  the  telegraph 
and  telephone  invented,  and  all  the  appliances  for  the 
spread  of  intelligence  devised.  Somehow  the  Gospel 
awakens  thought,  and  directs  it  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  valuable  results. 

This  is  as  we  should  expect;  for  the  human  indi- 
vidual is  a  unit,  and  with  the  spiritual  should  come 
mental  growth  and  physical  well-being.  The  min- 
ister may  well  rejoice  that  while  souls  are  being 
saved  by  the  preaching  of  the  word  there  is  less 
abuse  of  the  body,  there  is  a  decrease  of  poverty, 
there  is  more  industry  among  the  people,  with  an 
increase  of  the  comforts  of  life.  Multitudes  of  the 
young  are  thus  made  conscious  of  the  value  of  edu- 
cation, and  every  laudable  form  of  mental  effort  is 


The   Ministry  S9 

stimulated,  so  that  Christian  lands  far  outstrip  all 
others  in  that  which  makes  men  great  and  noble. 
Wonderful  is  the  adaptation  of  the  Gospel  to  all 
the  wants  of  the  race! 

Fourth.  The  ultimate  purpose  of  the  Gospel  is 
to  make  the  earth  the  abode  of  all  that  is  pure  and 
heavenly,  to  bring  the  new  Jerusalem  down  among 
men.  Christ  is  the  perfect  pattern  for  every  life — 
devoid  of  all  selfishness,  free  from  all  improper 
ambitions,  living  only  to  make  men  good  and  happy. 
So  far  as  the  disciple  is  like  his  Lord  will  holiness 
and  right  be  triumphant.  And  surely  the  morning 
breaketh.  Multitudes  gather  around  the  cross  to 
look  into  the  face  of  their  dying  Lord.  The  love 
that  led  him  to  leave  the  courts  of  heaven  to  die  for 
men  has  taken  hold  of  their  hearts,  and  they  are 
ready  to  die  with  him  if  thus  the  people  may  be 
saved.  The  ministry  is  not  losing  its  power  when 
the  messenger  of  salvation  continues  to  point  to  the 
Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world  as  a 
sacrifice  for  sin.  Seeing  to  it  that  the  gaze  of  men 
is  not  diverted  from  the  crucified  One,  the  Gospel, 
through  the  preaching  of  the  word,  will  move 
grandly  forward  for  the  overthrow  of  the  kingdom 
of  darkness;  for  Christ  shall  reign  King  of  kings 
and  Lord  of  lords. 

To  young  men  who  are  prompted  to  choose  the 
ministry  for  their  lifework  we  may  well  say  that 
this  is  a  noble  calling.  The  service  is  a  sacred  serv- 
ice, more  than  any  other  employment  in  which  we 


6o  Choosing  a  Lifework 

can  engage.  It  is  honorable  in  that  if  deals  with  the 
most  important  interests  of  life.  It  is  useful,  for 
out  from  the  work  of  the  ministry,  when  rightfully 
carried  forward,  the  people  are  made  better,  happier, 
and  more  perfect.  It  is  not  a  profession  for  the 
accumulation  of  property,  and  it  is  well  that  it  is 
not;  for  the  temptation  to  yield  to  worldly  motives 
would  be  likely  to  blast  the  power  of  the  preacher, 
exalting  earth  above  heaven.  The  ministry,  God's 
provision  for  saving  the  world,  must  draw  its  inspi- 
ration from  the  love  that  beamed  forth  from  the 
cross  where  Jesus  was  made  the  complete  Saviour 
of  men. 


The   Minister  6i 


CHAPTER  V 
The  Minister 


Shall  I  enter  the  ministry?  We  answer  this 
question  with  an  emphatic  No,  unless  it  be  in  obe- 
dience to  a  profound  conviction  of  duty,  unless  there 
be  unmistakable  grounds  for  the  belief  that  God 
calls  you  to  this  holy  work.  But  we  say  Yes,  if 
your  own  enlightened  conscience  and  the  voice  of 
the  Church,  both,  urge  you  to  consecrate  your  life 
to  this  one  work,  preaching  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

But  many  things  must  first  be  considered  by  you 
and  by  the  Church  as  well.  In  speaking  of  a  bishop 
Paul  says  he  must  be  *'apt  to  teach.''  It  is  not 
stretching  the  principle  to  apply  this  to  every  min- 
ister of  the  Gospel.  No  one  has  a  right  to  enter  the 
pulpit  who  is  not  ''apt  to  teach."  Before  all  other 
men,  in  any  profession,  the  minister  is  expected  to 
be  a  leader  and  a  guide.  He  must  know  how  to 
guide  aright;  he  must  possess,  in  an  eminent  degree 
indeed,  the  qualifications  of  leadership. 

"What  is  the  preacher?''  is  always  a  pertinent 
question.  It  cannot  be  forced  out  of  sight. 
Churches  and  congregations  do  not  confine  them- 
selves to  the  inquiry  as  to  doctrines  preached,  but 
they  ask.  What  kind  of  a  man  is  he  who  expects  us 
to  listen  to  his  exposition  of  truth?  And  the 
answer  is  not  sufficient  which  merely  indorses  his 


62  Choosing  a  Lifework 

moral  character  and  certifies  to  his  spirituality.  Can 
he  preach  ?  Has  he  gifts  ?  With  him  in  it  will  the 
pulpit  be  above  the  pews?  Then,  what  is  his  style? 
Is  he  a  logician,  or  rhetorician,  or  both,  or  neither? 
Can  he  draw  the  people  to  hear  him?  Has  he  the 
ability  to  build  up  the  church?  Taken  all  in  all, 
what  kind  of  a  man  is  he?  These  questions  are 
not  irrelevant. 

The  native  talents  of  the  man  who  stands  in  the 
pulpit  are  sure  to  enter  as  a  factor  into  the  success 
achieved.  Clear  intellectual  acumen,  depth  of  men- 
tal penetration,  profound  logical  powers,  breadth  of 
comprehension,  vivid  imagery  of  thought,  ready 
flow  of  ideas,  a  strong  personality — this  all  tells  upon 
an  audience  and  becomes  a  purveyor  of  truth  to  the 
souls  of  men. 

Can  the  message  be  separated  from  the  preacher  ? 
Put  this  Bible,  this  same  Gospel,  into  the  hands  of 
two  different  men.  One  of  these  will  draw  from 
the  word  a  discourse  of  extraordinary  power  and 
effectiveness ;  the  other  will  deal  out,  it  may  be,  that 
which  is  puerile  and  illogical,  belittling  the  Gospel 
so  that  the  ungodly  sneer. 

There  is  no  place  where  talent  tells  in  a  more 
marked  degree  than  in  the  pulpit,  no  place  where 
it  is  more  regal.  A  few  men  rise  to  eminence  in  the 
legal  profession.  They  are  men  of  unusual  and 
peculiar  capabilities.  Mediocre  minds  keep  down  on 
a  lower  plane.  Here  certainly  talent  wins.  And 
this  is  no  less  true  when  the  ministry  is  the  theater 


The   Minister  63 

of  intellectual  effort.  Brains  are  as  mighty  in  the 
pulpit  as  anywhere  else,  and  are  as  necessary  to  give 
effectiveness  to  the  divine  message  as  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  any  other  work.  The  problems  to 
be  solved  are  the  greatest  known  to  thought,  and  in 
the  presentation  of  truth  there  needs  to  be  a  clear 
and  logical  statement,  with  such  irresistible  direct- 
ness that  it  will  enter  as  a  transforming  power  into 
the  life  of  the  hearer.  The  heaviest  blows  should 
be  wielded,  for  moral  disinclination  to  receive  the 
truth  operates  to  bar  it  from  the  soul.  Men  are 
needed  in  the  pulpit  whose  weight  and  incisiveness 
of  thought  nothing  can  resist. 

It  is  evident  the  preacher  cannot  give  forth  more 
than  he  possesses.  He  must  have  ideas  in  order 
to  impart  them,  and  also  innate  power  to  handle 
them.  So  grand  are  the  themes  with  which  the 
pulpit  must  deal,  so  incomparably  deep  and  far- 
reaching,  that  the  greatest  minds  even  may  well 
stand  appalled  in  their  presence.  If  truth  shall 
flow  from  the  pulpit  in  large  measure,  its  conduit 
must  possess  large  capacity.  You  cannot  tap  the 
Pacific  Ocean  and  supply  a  whole  continent  with 
water  by  means  of  an  inch  tube;  neither  can  you 
flood  the  world  with  divine  thought  through  the 
slender  channel  of  narrow  minds.  God  is  condi- 
tioned in  his  talk  with  us  by  the  medium  of  com- 
munication. He  is,  practically,  finite  just  in  the 
ratio  of  the  intellectual  limitations  of  the  preacher. 

This  thought  suggests  another,  that  no  man  can 


64  Choosing  a  Lifework 

discharge  his  obHgations  to  God  as  a  preacher  with- 
out gaining  scholarly  habits  together  with  the 
knowledge  and  culture  resulting  therefrom.  With 
too  many  ministers  study  is  a  hardship.  They  have 
not  learned  how  to  study,  and  every  effort  is  like 
rowing  up  the  rapids  of  Niagara.  They  have  not 
learned  how  to  dip  in  their  oars,  and  there  is  lacking 
a  steadiness  and  vigor  of  mental  pull.  Energies 
are  wasted  in  a  hundred  things  foreign  to  the  sub- 
ject in  hand,  so  that,  instead  of  plowing  right 
through  the  ocean  of  thought,  in  their  best  efforts, 
even,  they  splash  all  around  amid  thewaves.  No  har- 
bor is  gained ;  no  intellectual  point  is  reached.  Now, 
mental  habits  may  be  acquired  as  certainly  as  physi- 
cal habits.  That  which  is  needed  is  that  logical, 
consistent  thinking  shall  become  natural.  The  mind 
should  not  from  indolence  or  inappreciativeness  be 
inclined  to  stop  on  the  threshold  of  truth,  but  should 
get  into  the  habit  of  moving  forward  and  pressing 
on  to  that  which  is  within  the  temple  of  knowl- 
edge. 

No  one  will  dispute  the  proposition  that  scholar- 
ship puts  the  minister  decidedly  on  vantage  ground. 
Four  to  six  years  given  to  mental  furnishing  and 
culture,  as  is  done  in  college,  would  enrich  the  re- 
mainder of  life  with  a  store  of  accumulated  and 
increasing  power  for  manifold  more  effective  service 
than  if  the  pastoral  relation  were  immediately  as- 
sumed. An  appreciation  of  this  fact  often  comes 
too  late.     Under  pressure  from  without,  or  the  spur 


The  Minister  65 

of  ardent  desires  to  become  useful,  the  young 
man  plunges  into  ministerial  work,  to  find,  after  a 
time,  that  a  very  grave  mistake  has  been  made.  The 
multiform  species  of  labor  that  are  sure  to  fill  his 
hands  allow  but  little  time  for  the  gaining  of  mental 
force  for  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  necessary  to 
keep  in  advance  of  his  intelligent  hearers,  and  he 
struggles  on,  sadly  conscious  of  weakness,  until  per- 
haps he  drops  prematurely  out  of  the  ministry,  or, 
if  not  this,  spends  his  later  years  in  brooding  over 
the  assumed  folly  of  the  churches  in  setting  him 
aside  for  younger  and  sprightlier  men.  If  in  good 
health,  should  not  a  man  keep  in  his  prime  until  he 
is  seventy?  If  the  world  has  moved  on  beyond  us, 
we  cannot  expect  it  will  ask  us  to  lead  it.  We 
must  understand  the  thought  of  to-day,  and  have 
ears  to  hear  the  throbbings  of  the  life  of  the  millions 
about  us,  if  we  are  to  be  of  any  service  to  them. 

It  is  evident  that  two  acquisitions  await  the  labor 
of  the  student — one  power,  the  other  knowledge. 
We  want  to  know  how  to  find  truth,  how  to  take  it 
up  in  its  fullest  measure  and  widest  relations,  and 
how  to  gain  the  ability  to  handle  it  most  efifectively. 
There  is  but  one  way  to  gain  power,  and  that  is 
by  the  steady  taxing  of  the  faculties  under  the  con- 
ditions of  singleness  of  aim  and  closeness  of  atten- 
tion. Years  of  special  training  ought  to  add  to 
man's  power  to  grasp  objects  of  thought  so  as  to 
move  the  people.  He  should  be  able  to  wield  a 
mightier  arm,  to  strike  heavier  blows  in  the  pulpit. 


66  Choosing  a  Lifework 

While  study  gives  discipline  to  the  intellect,  it 
also  puts  us  in  possession  of  valuable  truth,  or  sup- 
plies the  means  of  gaining  it.  In  speaking,  writing, 
or  reading  we  employ  language;  more  than  this, 
in  thinking  we  employ  language.  Language  is 
the  most  wonderful  product  of  the  human  mind. 
It  is  the  storehouse  of  thought;  it  is  its  medium  of 
transmission ;  it  is  the  track  on  which  the  mind  runs 
in  the  gaining  or  development  of  thought.  With- 
out language  the  effectiveness  of  our  subjective 
energies  would  be  reduced  to  a  minimum.  You 
cannot  have  failed  to  note  the  universal  sway  of  lan- 
guage over  our  mental  life.  Not  words  as  simply  com- 
posed of  the  letters  of  the  alphabet,  but  words  with 
an  intelligent  content;  words  standing  for  things; 
more  than  this,  words  as  the  crystallization  of  class 
notions;  words  holding  varied  and  sublime  princi- 
ples in  their  grasp;  words  the  track  on  which  logic 
moves  in  reaching  its  conclusions;  words  which 
bring  angels  and  God  into  our  vision.  Words  and 
the  sentences  which  they  compose  include  within 
themselves  all  history  and  discovered  truth.  Lan- 
guage, this  universal  organism  of  ideas,  demands 
the  closest  and  most  continuous  study,  for  many 
reasons.  There  is  no  better  agency  for  the  training 
of  the  intellect.  The  solving  of  the  myriads  of  prob- 
lems involved  in  the  composition  and  structure  of 
any  of  the  great  languages  calls  for  the  sharpest 
and  most  painstaking  study.  Then,  with  the  min- 
ister, language  is  the  instrument  he  wields;  it  is 


The   Minister  67 

his  battleship  to  carry  his  engines  of  attack  against 
the  enemy ;  it  is  the  purveyor  of  all  the  mental  forces 
God  calls  upon  him  to  use  in  bringing  them  to  bear 
upon  the  lives  of  men.  He  should  have  a  rich  vo- 
cabulary, an  accurate  knowledge  of  construction  of 
words  into  sentences,  and  an  understanding  of  the 
elements  of  beauty  and  power  in  speech.  But  we 
need  not  dwell  on  this. 

Much  that  is  said  above  applies  to  intellectual 
pursuits  in  other  fields  of  study.  Whichever  way  we 
turn  we  find  ourselves  within  the  domain  of  truth. 
To  appear  in  the  pulpit  as  the  teacher  of  intelligent 
men  we  need  a  broad  foundation  of  knowledge. 
The  Bible,  which  should  be  our  chief  text-book,  is 
not  purely  spiritual.  As  we  scan  the  word  we  dis- 
cover that  it  includes  geography,  history,  archaeol- 
ogy ;  that  it  comes  close  up  to  the  borders  of  science ; 
that  the  God  who  offers  salvation  is  the  Being  who 
said,  "Let  there  be  light;"  who  brought  forth  the 
continents  from  the  bed  of  the  sea ;  who  covers  the 
earth  with  vegetation ;  who  has  filled  the  ocean  with 
animal  life;  who  now,  as  thousands  of  years  ago, 
rides  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind  and  measures  the 
waters  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand;  who  sends  forth 
his  judgments  on  the  nations  of  the  earth;  whose 
voice  is  heard  in  all  the  chambers  of  nature,  and 
through  all  the  ages  of  history,  and  who  in  his  per- 
sonal power  is  working  out  his  grand  designs  in 
evey  part  of  this  great  universe.  As  such  the  preach- 
er of  the  Gospel  must  recognize  him.     A  narrower 


68  Choosing  a  Lifework 

conception  than  this  will  not  meet  the  wants  of  the 
soul  awakened  to  intellectual  efiforts  in  this  thinking 
age.  The  exaltation  of  the  divine  throne  above  all 
human  ambitions,  above  earth  and  sky,  the  universal 
personal  power  presiding  even  over  the  minutest 
atom  as  well  as  over  the  mightiest  world — this  is 
what  we  intelligently  need  in  our  thoughts  and  in 
the  spirit  of  our  lives. 

How  can  the  minister  who  knows  nothing  of 
God's  wonderful  designs  in  nature,  nothing  of  his 
ways  in  history,  nothing  of  the  unfolding  of  his 
power  and  wisdom  in  the  creations  about  him — how 
can  he  carry  his  audience  along  this  highway  of  di- 
vine movements  up  to  the  eternal  throne?  All  truth 
is  one,  and  no  part  of  it  is  profane.  The  God  who 
rules  the  sky  is  he  that  gave  his  Son  for  our  redemp- 
tion. We  must  remember  that  the  Gospel  as  a 
grand  objective  scheme  will  not  save  the  world  by 
the  energy  it  possesses;  so  much  of  it,  and  only  so 
much,  as  we  carry  to  men  will  take  hold  upon  them. 
The  strongest  intellect,  clothed  with  knowledge  and 
wisdom,  and  wielding  most  vigorously  the  weapons 
it  possesses,  under  the  inspiration  of  this  Gospel 
will  most  mightily  and  fully  accomplish  its  work. 

In  judging  of  the  influences  in  operation  to  secure 
success  in  the  discharge  of  ministerial  functions  we 
must  not  omit  to  mention  the  mode  of  expression  of 
truth.  Under  the  term  mode  there  must  be  put 
both  the  nature  of  the  discourse  and  the  style  of  de- 
livery.    Three  things  combine  always  to  form  a 


The   Minister  6g 

spoken  discourse :  the  thought,  the  relations  and 
imagery  of  thought,  and  the  spirit  and  style  of  utter- 
ance. Simply  the  preaching  of  the  sermon  does 
not  exhaust  the  power  of  the  preacher's  personality 
in  his  relations  to  the  public  addressed.  How  a  man 
delivers  his  discourse  is  scarcely  less  important  than 
what  he  says.  Joy  and  sorrow  may  not  be  expressed 
by  the  same  intonations  of  voice.  A  dying  man 
would  not  be  addressed  in  the  manner  a  brigade  of 
soldiers  would  be  inspirited  on  the  battlefield.  It 
would  be  folly  to  throw  all  forms  of  truth  and  all 
kinds  and  grades  of  emotion  into  the  same  words. 
Do  men  greatly  in  earnest  talk  in  a  languid  or  in- 
different tone  ?  Need  there  be  no  difference  between 
a  funeral  sermon  and  a  thanksgiving  sermon,  in 
the  utterance  of  a  weeping  heart  and  a  heart  over- 
flowing with  gladness  ?  The  wants  of  our  audiences 
are  infinitely  varied,  and  the  style  of  delivery  should 
correspond  thereto.  Every  person  must  see  that 
there  is  an  appropriate  and  an  inappropriate  style 
of  delivery,  and  what  the  style  should  be  must  be 
determined  by  the  character  of  the  sentiments  to  be 
expressed.  The  ocean  does  not  roar  in  its  passive 
moods,  but  only  when  it  is  stirred  to  its  very  depths. 
The  wind  sighs  when  it  creeps  through  the  branches 
of  the  trees,  but  it  howls  when  it  goes  forth  as  a 
beast  of  prey. 

It  is  not  expected  that  all  persons  will  employ 
precisely  the  same  style  of  delivery,  for  the  style 
should  fit  the  mind  of  him  of  whose  thought  it  is 


70  Choosing  a  Lifework 

to  be  the  bearer.  And  such  a  style  is  a  natural  style. 
Nothing  is  so  artificial  as  the  reading  and  speaking 
of  those  persons  who  disregard  the  rules  of  oratory 
for  fear  they  will  not  be  natural.  An  uneducated, 
untrained  style  is  in  most  cases  woefully  artificial. 
What  we  should  seek  is  to  give  accurate,  appropriate, 
and  full  expression  to  the  thought.  This  fidelity  to 
truth  demands,  and  with  less  than  this  we  ought  not 
to  be  satisfied.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  minister  to  train 
his  voice  so  that  he  can  put  himself  in  unison  with 
the  nature  and  spirit  of  the  truth  uttered,  that  it 
may  not  be  masked,  or  hindered  on  its  way  to  the 
mind  and  heart  of  the  hearer.  A  perfect  pulpit 
orator  is  he  who  delivers  most  fittingly  a  sermon 
which  contains  just  the  truth  the  audience  needs. 
The  best  that  can  be  said,  put  into  the  best  language 
and  delivered  with  the  truest  expression — what  more 
is  required  to  make  a  discourse  masterly,  even  un- 
surpassed ? 

The  foregoing  thoughts  furnish  a  partial  an- 
swer to  the  question,  ''What  ought  a  minister  to 
study?"  There  is  an  important  branch  which  the 
remarks  already  made  have  not  suggested,  and 
that  is  the  study  of  men,  the  study  of  human  nature. 
The  colporteur  who  pressed  on  the  cripple  who  had 
lost  both  legs  a  tract  against  dancing  did  not  do 
his  work  in  a  less  practical  way  than  some  ministers 
are  doing.  The  occasion  should  determine  largely 
the  truth  to  be  uttered,  and  there  should  be  a  wise 
manner  of  dealing  it  out  to  the  people.     All  the 


The   Minister  71 

medicines  the  physician  carries  in  his  case  are  valu- 
able, but  he  does  not  give  the  whole  of  them  at  once 
nor  deal  them  out  indiscriminately.  The  Bible  is 
all  true,  but  the  minister  should  not  at  random  take 
portions  from  its  pages  to  present  to  his  congrega- 
tion. How  to  approach  men,  and  what  to  offer  them 
when  approached,  is  a  twofold  subject,  both  parts 
of  which  are  well  worth  the  minister's  attention. 
The  physician  must  not  only  understand  the  nature 
of  his  medicines,  but  also  the  condition  of  his  patient, 
if  he  would  know  what  to  give.  Men  sometimes  are 
so  approached  as  to  lead  them  to  close  the  ear  of 
the  intellect  and  heart,  both,  against  the  truth. 

The  evil  here  spoken  of  is  by  no  means  uncom- 
mon. The  education  of  a  great  many  men  is  all 
bookish.  They  live  only  in  the  seclusion  of  the 
study,  knowing  nothing  of  the  daily  throbbings  of 
the  heart  of  society.  Of  the  avenues  to  human  souls 
they  seem  to  be  wholly  destitute  of  knowledge,  and 
hence  waste  their  energies  in  talking  against  im- 
penetrable walls.  There  is  somewhere  an  open 
channel  into  every  soul,  and  if  it  be  found,  a  capture 
is  readily  made.  What  is  wanted  is  that  the  hearer 
should  be  led  to  lay  down  his  arms,  certainly  not 
to  brandish  them  in  more  determined  antagonism. 
The  work  of  the  Gospel  is  a  practical  one,  the  win- 
ning of  souls  to  Christ.  Big  sermons  are  not  always 
synonymous  with  effective  ones.  Discourses  may 
be  masterly,  logical  efforts  but  so  offensive  as  to 
drive  into  infidelity.  He  is  the  wisest  shepherd  who 


1^  Choosing  a  LiFEWofeK 

gathers  most  largely  into  the  fold,  not  he  who  simply 
displays  most  power  over  the  sheep.  Some  men 
are  very  learned,  and  thoroughly  stocked  with  logic, 
and  possess  every  kind  of  sense  but  common  sense. 
Lacking  this,  they  are  destitute  of  the  most  useful 
commodity  a  minister  can  own.  It  does  not  hurt 
a  preacher  to  be  somewhat  a  man  of  affairs,  at 
least  to  have  a  knowledge  of,  and  sympathy  with,  the 
practical  problems  with  which  the  people  are  deal- 
ing. The  sacred  office  should  not  be  held  to  be 
sacred  in  the  sense  of  divorcing  the  preacher  from 
the  great  world  which  he  is  seeking  to  save.  Un- 
less he  understands  the  struggles  and  temptations 
into  which  society  is  constantly  being  plunged  his 
movements  will  lack  the  guidance  of  intelligent 
vision.  It  is  not  enough  to  comprehend  the  purpose 
of  the  Gospel  and  its  plan  of  salvation  on  the  God- 
ward  side;  we  must  understand  the  scheme  in  the 
difficulties  it  encounters  in  the  life  and  relations  of 
men.  The  Gospel  is  to  be  preached  to  men  as  men, 
with  an  intelligent  forecast  of  the  wants  to  be 
supplied. 

Another  subject  demanding  study,  more  important 
than  it  may  seem,  is  one's  self.  The  estimate  a  person 
places  on  himself  is  very  apt  to  be  the  most  perverted 
of  all  his  judgments.  What  are  our  powers;  what 
can  we  do  to  the  best  advantage ;  what  is  the  merit 
of  our  work?  It  does  not  follow  that  a  man  is 
mistaken  when  he  complains  that  his  talents  are 
not  adequately  appreciated  by  the  church,  nor  does 


The   Minister  73 

it  follow  that  the  church  is  always  in  the  wrong. 
How  is  a  man  to  grow  who  sees  no  need  of  growth  ? 
How  is  he  to  correct  imperfections  when  blind  to 
their  existence?  Self  is  not  to  be  preached,  but  it 
is  to  be  weighed,  restrained,  guided,  shaped,  and  its 
best  energies  employed  in  order  that  the  cross  may 
be  more  plainly  held  up  before  the  people. 

What  is  the  minister?  This  question  cannot  be 
answered  in  a  single  stereotyped  phrase.  He  is 
either  intellectual  or  the  opposite ;  scholarly  or  illiter- 
ate; a  man  of  common  sense  or  destitute  of  it; 
gentlemanly  or  ungentlemanly ;  social  or  unsocial; 
coarse  or  refined;  of  grand  manhood  or  lacking  in 
personal  power  for  good  in  his  individual  life.  In 
all  these  contrasts  the  better  qualities  must  inhere 
in  him  if  the  Gospel  sword  he  wields  shall  be  most 
mighty  in  his  hands.  Logical  power  in  the  pulpit, 
refined  social  power  for  work  outside  of  the  pulpit, 
a  grand  manhood  on  which  both  shall  rest  as  a 
foundation  which  cannot  be  swept  away — and  we 
shall  find  that  from  the  human  side  the  Gospel  is 
ready  to  go  forth  on  a  career  of  conquest.  How 
strong,  how  learned,  how  wise,  how  pure  the  min- 
ister should  be  that  the  Gospel  receives  no  hurt  at 
his  hands,  and  he  be  fitted  to  carry  it  in  its  richness 
and  power  to  a  dying  world!  What  you  can  be, 
in  the  fullest  preparation  to  preach  the  Gospel  of 
salvation  to  men,  this  you  should  be,  if  you  take 
upon  your  heart  and  intellect  the  great  responsi- 
bilities of  a  minister  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 


74  Choosing  a  Lifework 


CHAPTER  VI 

The  Medical  Profession 

Health  is  a  perfect  anatomical  and  functional 
condition  of  the  body.  Disease  is  the  correlative  of 
health — a  deflection  from  the  line  of  health.  For 
thousands  of  years  there  was  no  medical  profession. 
There  was  no  body  of  facts  relating  to  curative 
agents  or  modes  of  treatment  to  serve  as  the  basis 
of  a  profession.  That  individuals  suffered  from 
accidents  and  disease  in  those  early  periods,  the  same 
as  now,  is  evident,  but  they  suffered  without  pro- 
fessional help.  Humanity  prompted  the  use  of 
means  for  relief  from  suffering,  but  this  use  was 
largely  subject  to  irrational  superstitions.  Even  in 
Egypt,  which  preceded  all  other  lands  in  the  study 
of  medicine,  "they  exposed  the  sick  by  the  wayside, 
that  passers-by  who  had  suffered  from  similar 
maladies  might  recognize  them  and  declare  the 
means  of  cure."  Herodotus  tells  us  that  the  Baby- 
lonians, Chaldeans,  and  other  nations  had  no  phy- 
sicians, but  followed  the  same  custom.  ''Disease 
was  believed  to  arise  from  the  anger  of  the  gods, 
and  hence  the  priests  monopolized  the  care  of  the 
sick.''  The  Hindus  were  probably  not  far  behind 
the  Egyptians  in  their  interest  in  and  study  of 
medicine.  Later  came  Greece,  and  then  Rome 
borrowed  from  Greece  in  this  as  in  many  other 


The    Medical    Profession  75 

things.  'The  modern  doctor,"  says  Hall,  ''dates 
only  from  the  reign  of  Henry  VHI,  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  when  the  College  of  Physicians  in  England 
was  founded  as  a  body  corporate  by  letters  patent  in 
the  tenth  year  of  the  reign." 

The  importance  of  the  medical  profession  cannot 
be  overestimated.  If  there  be  a  body  of  men  pos- 
sessing the  knowledge  and  skill  to  relieve  physical 
suffering  and  remove  disease,  who  are  subject  to 
call  in  case  of  sickness  or  accident,  we  certainly  are 
greatly  favored  over  the  people  of  the  early  times. 
But  what  estimate  should  be  put  on  the  profession? 
The  physician  starts  out  with  the  knowledge  of  this 
fact,  that  his  skill,  were  it  perfect,  will  at  times  be 
baffled;  sooner  or  later  death  is  sure  to  triumph 
over  all.  The  darts  of  the  dark  angel  will  ulti- 
mately pierce  to  the  heart  of  every  human  being. 
The  physician  cannot  be  an  absolute  master.  There 
are  a  thousand  avenues  of  approach  for  the  fell 
destroyer,  all  of  which  no  one  can  guard.  Death 
may  steal  in  from  wholly  unexpected  quarters.  God 
does  not  allow  the  physician  to  guarantee  health; 
the  life  of  no  human  being  is  turned  over  completely 
into  his  hands.  When  a  physician  tells  us  that 
none  of  his  patients  die  we  may  be  sure  that  his 
practice  is  very  limited. 

The  physician  labors  under  the  greatest  of  dif- 
ficulties. The  processes  of  life  are  hidden  from 
sight.  The  heart  performs  its  work  where  no  eye 
can  see  it;  the  nerves  ramify  into  all  parts  of  the 


76  Choosing  a  Lifework 

body,  but  wrapped  up  within  profound  darkness; 
the  blood  rushes  onward  throughout  the  system,  but 
its  movements  are  secret;  the  stomach  carries  for- 
ward its  alchemy  out  of  reach  of  eye  or  ear; 
every  gland  and  every  fiber  of  the  system  has  its 
hiding  place,  and  when  tlie  anatomist  dissects  the 
body  it  is  not  done  until  all  the  functions  of  life  have 
been  suspended.  The  dead  man  is  immeasurably 
less  than  the  man  that  is  alive.  Even  the  X-rays 
open  the  channels  of  vision  only  to  a  very  limited  ex- 
tent. But  even  ''dissection  was  forbidden  by  the 
clergy  of  the  Middle  Ages,  on  the  ground  that  it  was 
impious  to  mutilate  a  form  made  in  the  image  of 
God.''  The  most  that  could  be  done  was  to  dissect 
animals. 

Physically  we  are  "fearfully  and  wonderfully 
made.''  The  complexity  and  functional  activity  of 
the  body,  especially  in  relation  to  the  environments 
in  which  we  are  placed,  may  well  fill  us  with  aston- 
ishment. But  the  statement  of  the  psalmist  ex- 
presses a  deeper  mystery  still  when  the  remark  is 
made  of  man  in  his  entire  personality.  Psycholo- 
gists and  physiologists  have  speculated  on  the  na- 
ture of  the  unity  of  soul  and  body  as  comprising 
the  human  person  without  finding  the  solution  of 
this  dark  problem.  '  There  is  a  general  consensus 
of  belief,  for  weighty  reasons,  that  the  mind  per- 
forms its  functions  in  connection  with  and  through 
the  cells  of  the  brain,  but  this  supplies  us  with  a 
condition  only,  not  a  cause.     We  find  the  track  on 


The    Medical    Profession  yy 

which  the  engine  of  mental  life  runs,  but  we  are 
wholly  ignorant  of  the  motor  power.  But  this 
figure  is  not  entirely  appropriate.  The  railroad 
track  and  the  engine  do  not  react  on  each  other,  but 
brain  acts  on  mind  and  mind  on  brain;  each  stimu- 
lates and  guides  the  other.  Yet  what  further  do 
we  know  than  the  mere  fact?  Many  a  person  dies 
from  fright,  some  even  from  excess  of  joy,  and  this 
is  purely  mental.  The  insane  suffer  mental  derange- 
ment from  the  impaired  or  abnormal  action  of  brain 
cells,  the  mental  state  being  the  effect  of  a  physical 
cause.  Mind  and  body  are  every  moment  interde- 
pendent ;  hence  in  facing  a  physiological  problem  the 
physician  faces  a  mental  problem  as  well.  This 
renders  his  work  more  delicate  and  difficult  than  it 
would  otherwise  be.  On  this  problem  the  dissection 
of  a  dead  body  throws  no  light;  the  study  must  be 
of  the  living  person.  The  profession  must  bear  in 
mind  not  only  that  no  two  persons  have  the  same 
nervous  state,  but  that  an  existing  nervous  state 
may  undergo  a  radical  and  constant  change  in  the 
same  individual.  Uniform  medical  treatment  under 
varying  conditions  would  be  a  crime. 

It  is  evident  that  remedies,  in  their  composition 
and  application,  must  wait  upon  the  development 
of  science.  They  cannot  precede ;  they  must  follow. 
As  fundamental  to  this,  anatomy  and  physiology 
must  be  understood.  Not  until  a  comparatively 
recent  date  has  the  structure  of  the  body  been  deter- 
mined with  any  degree  of  approximation  to  the 


78  Choosing  a  Lifework 

real.  And  it  would  seem  that  anatomy  and  physiol- 
ogy must  be  linked  with  each  other.  Together  they 
form  a  single  science.  Every  part  of  the  body  has 
functions  to  perform.  The  question,  What  for? 
is  answered  by  physiology.  There  is  teleology  in 
every  part  of  the  bodily  system,  but  this  is  not  a  book 
that  can  be  read  without  painstaking  study.  A  few 
centuries  cover  nearly  the  whole  period  of  natural 
science.  Anatomy  passes  on  into  histology.  The 
microscope  is  doing  a  work  of  the  highest  value. 
Chemistry  has  been  opening  a  field  of  knowledge  of 
the  utmost  importance.  Micro-chemistry  is  letting 
us  into  secrets  which  nature  had  scrupulously  guard- 
ed from  our  gaze.  Pathology  has  risen  to  a  science, 
and  therapeutics  has  reached  a  stage  of  reliability  to 
wliich  in  the  past  it  w^as  a  stranger. 

In  these  later  years  important  discoveries  have 
followed  in  regular  succession.  In  the  seventeenth 
century  Harvey  discovered  the  circulation  of  the 
blood.  In  the  eighteenth  century  Jenner  determined 
the  value  of  vaccination  as  a  preventive  of  smallpox. 
In  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  use  of 
anaesthetics  as  a  specific  against  pain  in  surgical  oper- 
ations was  tried^  and  found  to  be  safe.  The  science 
of  bacteriology  is  now  being  carefully  studied,  and 
the  profession  generally  accepts  the  germ  theory  of 
disease  as  proven.  Surely  a  brighter  era  of  medi- 
cine seems  to  have  dawned  upon  us,  and  is  passing 
up  toward  its  meridian.  That  the  medical  profes- 
sion has  accomplished  so  much,  in  view  of  the  dark- 


The    Medical    Profession.  79 

ness  which  had  enveloped  the  field  of  study,  is  a 
proof  of  indefatigable  industry,  of  intense  zeal  in  be- 
half of  humanity,  and  of  intellectual  acumen  not 
surpassed  in  any  other  vocation. 

Medicine  is  not  an  exact  science.  It  is  not  sub- 
ject to  infallible  logic.  At  the  present  time  it  can- 
not be  put  under  universal  laws,  and  to  a  large  ex- 
tent this  will  always  be  true.  The  most  that  can 
be  said  is  that  it  is  rationally  empirical.  We  have 
in  it  the  results  of  experience  to  which  induction  can 
only  partially  be  applied.  This  absence  of  the  uni- 
versal takes  medical  treatment  out  of  the  certain 
and  puts  it  into  the  domain  of  the  probable.  This 
must  always  be,  unless  the  human  mind  shall  come 
to  that  perfection  of  knowledge  which  embraces  all 
conditions  and  foresees  all  possibilities.  The  dogma- 
tism of  the  early  days  w^as  utterly  unscientific;  it  sub- 
stituted rules  for  facts,  dicta  for  knowledge.  The 
medical  profession  of  to-day  is  in  possession  of  a 
body  of  facts  carefully  built  up  by  the  observations 
and  experiences  of  the  past,  and  which  is  constantly 
being  enlarged.  This  is  the  only  method  that  could 
be  employed  as  a  foundation  for  a  system  of  medical 
practice.  From  these  facts  inductions  more  or  less 
broad  have  been  drawn,  but  always  with  limitations 
depending  on  physical  or  mental  conditions.  It  is 
inevitable  that  in  many  cases  there  will  be  an  ele- 
ment of  uncertainty. 

It  is  not  strange  that  many  obstructions  have  ap- 
peared in  the  way  of  the  progress  of  medical  science. 


8o  Choosing  a  Lifework 

In  the  use  of  that  which  is  new  experiments  must  be 
tried.  Physicians  naturally  hesitate,  and  the  people 
show  reluctance  to  submit  to  the  tests  in  their  own 
persons.  It  was  with  much  difficulty  that  anaesthetics, 
now  regarded  as  so  humane,  could  be  brought  into 
use.  In  1798  Sir  Humphry  Davy  wrote,  "As  nitrous 
oxide,  in  its  extensi/e  operation,  appears  capable  of 
destroying  physical  pain,  it  may  probably  be  used 
with  advantage  during  surgical  operations  in  which 
no  great  effusion  of  blood  takes  place."  This  at- 
tracted but  little  attention  for  more  than  forty  years, 
when  finally  it  was  used  in  a  few  cases  in  extract- 
ing teeth.  Without  occupying  space  for  a  detailed 
history  of  experiments,  it  is  enough  to  say  here  that 
sulphuric  ether  was  finally  tried  with  good  results, 
and,  at  last,  especially  in  surgery,  for  which  the 
humane  discovery  was  generally  adopted  despite 
some  risks  incident  to  the  deadening  of  the  nervous 
system. 

Dr.  Jenner,  when  smallpox  was  mentioned  in  the 
presence  of  a  country  girl,  heard  her  say,  '1  can't 
take  that  disease,  for  I  have  had  cowpox.''  He  com- 
menced making  observations,  prosecuting  his  studies 
for  twenty  years,  and  when  attempting  to  introduce 
in  London  inoculation  with  cowpox  as  a  preventive 
of  smallpox  it  is  said  that  not  a  single  doctor  could 
be  induced  to  make  a  trial  of  it.  "He  was  even 
caricatured  and  abused  for  his  attempt  to  bestialize 
his  species  by  the  introduction  of  diseased  matter 
from  the  cow's  udder."     It  is  said  that  vaccination 


The    Medical    Profession  8i 

was  denounced  from  the  pulpit  as  diabolical.  It  was 
averred  that  vaccinated  children  became  ox-faced, 
that  abscesses  broke  out  to  indicate  the  sprouting  of 
horns,  and  that  the  countenance  was  gradually  trans- 
muted into  the  visage  of  a  cow,  the  voice  into  the 
bellowing  of  bulls.  To-day,  in  this  country,  few  par- 
ents would  think  of  bringing  up  their  children  with- 
out vaccination.  Cuvier  has  said,  'Tf  vaccine  were 
the  only  discovery  of  the  epoch,  it  would  serve  to 
make  it  illustrious  forever." 

The  medical  profession  is  laborious.  No  one 
should  enter  it  thinking  he  is  to  have  an  easy  time. 
The  mechanic  can  commence  his  work  at  seven  in 
the  morning  and  stop  at  six  in  the  evening.  There 
are  times  when  the  physician  can  take  no  rest.  He 
must  answer  calls  at  night  as  well  as  during  the  day. 
Indeed,  not  unfrequently  must  he  be  in  some  sick 
room  during  all  the  hours  of  the  twenty-four.  If 
his  practice  be  large — and  he  desires  it  to  be — he 
is  sure  to  overwork,  and  is  in  danger  of  breaking- 
down  under  the  excessive  strain ;  the  weakened  con- 
dition makes  him  liable  to  contract  disease  from  his 
patients,  and  he  cannot  proceed  as  business  firms 
manage  their  affairs,  with  employees  to  do  the  work  ; 
he  must  do  it  all  himself.  No  way  has  yet  been 
found  for  him  to  work  by  proxy.  He  must  himself 
visit  every  patient,  diagnose  every  case,  prescribe  the 
remedies  to  be  taken,  watch  the  symptoms  day  by 
day,  carry  all  the  responsibility  and  feel  all  the 
anxiety  attaching  to  the  condition  of  each  sick  bed. 


82  Choosing  a  Lifework 

It  is  not  a  showy  profession.  The  physician's 
duties  take  him  away  from  the  gaze  of  the  pubUc. 
It  is  not  a  band-wagon  profession.  Nothing  could 
be  more  private.  There  are  no  shouts  of  the  mul- 
titude to  inspire  him  in  the  performance  of  his  duty, 
In  many  instances  he  may  not  even  speak  of  the  con- 
dition of  his  patients.  It  is  only  when  a  remarkable 
cure  is  effected  that  the  people  proclaim  his  praise. 
In  nothing  else  is  there  so  much  privacy.  He  may 
not  even  advertise,  as  is  done  in  other  pursuits.  His 
sign  must  be  simple,  and  he  is  not  at  liberty  to 
parade  his  merits  before  the  public.  His  acts  must 
speak  for  him,  and  for  this  he  must  wait. 

The  medical  practitioner  is  not  allowed  obstru- 
sively  to  compete  with  other  members  of  the  pro- 
fession in  getting  patronage.  Business  firms  may 
legitimately  employ  means  to  make  an  impression 
on  the  public;  lawyers  may  wrangle  at  the  bar;  even 
ministers  may  advertise  their  sermons,  and  politi- 
cians deal  in  abuse  to  overwhelm  their  opponents; 
but  to  none  of  these  means  may  the  medical  practi- 
tioner resort.  The  physician  may  not  seek  for  suc- 
cess through  strife  or  any  form  of  subterfuge.  If 
he  rise  to  eminence,  it  must  be  by  his  own  merits, 
and  by  slow  and  laborious  work. 

The  practice  of  medicine  is  not  a  lucrative  pro- 
fession. The  tariff  of  charges  is  generally  uniform, 
and  the  aggregate — if  all  collected — does  not  make 
a  very  large  sum  each  day.  The  generosity  of  a 
large-hearted  rich  man  sometimes  munificently  re- 


ts 


The    Medical    Profession  83 

wards  the  skillful  surgeon  who  has  saved  his  life 
or  that  of  some  member  of  his  family,  but  this  good 
fortune  is  not  likely  to  be  experienced  away  from 
great  centers  of  population ;  and  even  there  it  is  not 
the  rule.  Most  practitioners  must  be  content  with 
slow  accumulations  of  property.  That  this  is 
wholly  an  evil  we  will  not  say.  Large  fortunes 
bring  their  hardships.  In  the  care  of  such  fortunes 
time  is  consumed,  anxieties  crowd  in  upon  the  mind, 
opportunities  for  study  and  mental  improvement  are; 
lessened,  and  the  capitalist  is  made  a  slave  to  money. 
"Give  me  neither  poverty  nor  riches''  was  a  petition 
of  the  wise  man  embodying  the  deepest  philosophy. 
It  is  not  easy  to  decide  which  is  the  more  unfortu- 
nate, the  poor  man  or  the  man  with  his  millions. 
One  cannot,  perhaps,  supply  all  his  wants ;  the  other 
is  weighed  down  with  burdens  which  are  almost 
too  heavy  to  carry.  He  who  has  enough  to  meet 
his  necessities  and  is  not  carrying  burdens  beyond 
his  needs  occupies  the  golden  mean. 

The  medical  is  a  beneficent  profession.  Every 
act  of  the  physician  is  performed  for  the  purpose  of 
doing  good.  We  send  for  him  with  the  expectation 
that  he  will  administer  relief.  He  responds  to  our 
call  with  this  end  in  view.  He  expects  remunera- 
tion for  his  services,  for  he  must  be  fed  and  clothed, 
but  his  heart  is  touched  by  the  sufferings  of  those  to 
whom  he  ministers ;  he  spends  his  life  in  the  atmos- 
phere of  affliction,  and  his  sympathies  are  aroused  by 
the  evidences  of  pain  and  physical  disability  which  he 


84  Choosing  a  Lifework 

finds  all  about  him.  And  he  would  be  less  than 
human  did  he  not  mourn  with  them  that  mourn 
when  death  relentlessly  claims  his  victim.  The 
medical  profession  stands  out  preeminently  among 
all  the  vocations  of  life  as  engaged  in  practical 
beneficence.  It  displays  altruism  of  the  best  kind. 
He  who  wishes  to  do  good  to  his  fellow-men,  re- 
move anxiety  from  the  breast,  put  joy  in  the  place 
of  sorrow,  and  make  homes  happy  can  find  no  field 
of  labor  where  these  results  will  follow  with  so  much 
certainty  as  in  the  intelligent  practice  of  medicine. 
^'No  other  men  under  heaven  can  do  so  much  good 
as  physicians.'' 

The  medical  profession  is  sure  to  become  more 
efficient  as  the  years  roll  round.  Valuable  experi- 
ences accumulate,  discoveries  bearing  on  health  are 
made  almost  every  day,  better  appliances  are  being 
invented,  laws  of  sanitation  are  becoming  more  fully 
understood,  and  methods  of  treatment  are  constantly 
undergoing  improvement.  To  confine  the  sick  in 
a  close  room  to  breathe  over  and  over  for  an  indefi- 
nite time  the  fetid  air  that  has  accumulated;  to  with- 
hold water  in  case  of  a  burning  fever ;  to  create  con- 
ditions which  would  kill  a  w^ell  man,  this  would  not 
be  tolerated  to-day.  And  there  is  both  a  compara- 
tive anatomy  and  comparative  physiology  which  are 
being  studied  with  the  best  results.  Nothing  is  be- 
ing developed  more  rapidly  than  medico-chemistry. 
Great  laboratories  have  been  built  for  the  study  and 
manufacture  of  medicinal  preparations.  At  the  pres- 


The    Medical    Profession  85 

ent  time  dentistry  is  dental  surgery,  and  amounts 
to  much  more  than  tearing  a  tooth  out  of  its  socket. 
There  are  laws  of  health  that  must  be  regarded. 
General  surgery  is  attended  with  less  uncertainty 
and  danger  than  in  the  past,  and  wounds  are  treated 
with  a  skill  of  which  the  fathers  did  not  dream.  The 
specialist  finds  the  precise  location  of  tumors  of  the 
brain  by  symptoms  in  other  parts  of  the  body,  and 
his  diagnosis  unerringly  guides  him  in  his  operations 
in  this  most  delicate  field  of  surgery.  The  oculist 
has  found  that  the  condition  of  the  eye  has  much  to 
do  with  the  health  of  other  organs  of  the  system. 
Imperfect  vision  disturbs  the  brain,  and  halluci- 
nations have  a  physical  basis. 

The  medical  profession  has  but  just  entered  on  that 
which  is  deepest  and  most  vital  in  the  healing  art. 
With  the  microscope  and  test  tube  wonderful  reali- 
ties will  yet  become  known,  and  bacteriology  bids 
fair  to  bring  us  a  thousand  things  which  thus  far 
have  eluded  our  search.  The  body  will  not  escape 
disease  and  death,  but  science  will  afford  safeguards 
which  will  permit  us  to  be  less  the  sport  of  the 
elements,  giving  us  a  mastery  over  much  that  now 
is  working  for  our  harm.  The  future  is  full  of 
good  for  the  race,  and  the  intelligent  and  earnest 
student  of  medicine  will  be  able  to  contribute  some- 
thing of  value  in  the  extension  of  the  fields  of  knowl- 
edge for  the  physical  welfare  of  the  race.  , 


86  Choosing  a  Life  work 


CHAPTER  VII 
The  Physician 

The  physician  owes  duties  to  himself  and  to  the 
piibHc,  both  of  which  he  should  scrupulously  and 
fully  discharge.  He  is  endowed  with  powers  for 
his  own  good  and  to  make  him  a  blessing  to  the 
community,  and  these  powers  should  be  developed 
in  the  largest  measure.     Indolence  is  a  crime. 

It  is  unwise  for  any  young  man  or  woman  to 
enter  the  medical  profession  without  first  acquiring 
knowledge  and  mental  training  of  a  high  order. 
This  preparation  should  be  sought  for  personal 
reasons.  The  profession  to  which  the  physician 
gives  his  life  is  full  of  problems  requiring  the  sharp- 
est intellectual  acumen.  This  is  evident  without 
special  discussion.  The  medical  practitioner  should 
be  a  close  and  discriminating  observer  and  a  sound 
reasoner.  Observation  is  more  than  mental  appre- 
hension— the  lowest  form  of  intellectual  activity;  it 
involves  analysis,  comparison,  and  classification,  or 
at  least  an  effort  to  classify.  There  is  brought  into 
this  effort  previous  knowledge  to  aid  in  the  deter- 
mination sought.  The  gaze  penetrates  beneath  the 
surface  to  evolve  the  real ;  if  successful,  knowledge  of 
that  which  was  hidden  is  the  outcome.  It  is  a 
penetrative  act,  not  a  mere  surface  discernment.  The 
physician  should  gain  the  ability  to  catch  quickly 


The  Physician  87 

changes  as  they  appear,  note  the  slightest  diffei- 
ences,  and  read  correct  values  into  any  symptoms  as 
they  arise.  There  is  no  profession  in  which  obser- 
vation performs  so  important  a  service  as  the  medi- 
cal. It  is  the  process  by  which  the  science  of 
medicine  has  been  developed,  and  is  essential  in  all 
medical  treatment.  The  physician  should  possess 
the  ability  to  observe  accurately,  and,  more  than 
this,  he  should  gain  the  habit  of  observation  to  such 
an  extent  as  to  make  it  to  be  his  very  life.  Not  only 
is  this  vitally  important  in  the  treatment  of  children, 
who  cannot  give  any  information  to  aid  in  diagnosis, 
but  in  all  medical  practice  there  is  much  that  the 
patient  cannot  reveal  by  any  statement  he  may 
make. 

In  connection  with  the  foregoing  we  should  call 
attention  to  the  need  of  logical  training.  The 
physician  is  constantly  employing  inductive  proc- 
esses; he  is  drawing  inferences;  he  is  reasoning 
from  premises  which  symptoms  put  within  his  reach. 
If  he  makes  a  mistake  in  his  logic,  it  may  be  fatal. 
No  one  should  enter  the  profession  who  has  not  a 
logical  mind.  We  mean  by  a  logical  mind  more 
than  the  ability  to  gain  knowledge;  it  must  be  the 
ability  to  gain  knowledge  that  is  relational — from  an 
accurate  perception  of  the  various  relations  that 
exist.  All  of  this  we  would  say  for  the  benefit  of 
the  physician  himself.  If  he  desire  skill  and  the 
satisfaction  of  personal  eminence,  he  must  not  do 
less  than  we  have  pointed  out. 


8S  Choosing  a  Lifework 

But  his  strongest  motive  for  securing  the  best 
educational  preparation  should  be  drawn  from  the 
interests  of  the  public.  To  protect  the  people  the 
state  should  require  graduation  from  a  college  of 
liberal  arts — or  scholarship  equivalent  thereto — 
before  the  candidate  engages  in  the  practice  of 
medicine.  Will  it  be  said  that  this  would  be  a 
hardship,  that  many  would  be  debarred  from  the 
profession?  If  it  should  be  followed  by  this  result, 
it  might  be  a  mercy  rather  than  an  injustice ;  for  the 
profession  is  now  overcrowded,  and  many  find  it 
impossible  to  procure  more  than  a  meager  support. 
It  would  be  better  to  engage  in  another  occupation. 

That  a  thorough  professional  course  should  be 
taken,  including  hospital  study,  before  entering  on 
the  practice  of  medicine,  all  will  admit.  This  is 
so  near  being  an  axiom  that  no  discussion  is  needed. 
But  it  is  important  to  say  that  the  student  life  should 
not  end  when  the  practice  of  medicine  begins.  There 
is  no  other  vocation  in  which  the  old  so  rapidly 
gives  way  to  the  new.  Chemistry  is  making  a  revo- 
lution is  medicine.  New  remedies  are  being  dis- 
covered almost  daily,  with  the  most  important  re- 
sults. The  microscope  is  bringing  to  light  that 
which  was  secret,  and  biology  is  illuminating  that 
which  was  hidden  in  darkness.  He  who  has  not 
the  spirit  of  study  is  out  of  place  in  this  profession. 
The  best  physicians  and  surgeons  are  accustomed  to 
take  some  months,  from  time  to  time,  away  from 
home,  in  hospital  or  schools  of  advanced  medical 


The  Physician  89 

science,  for  special  study.  This  is  wise,  and  the 
pubHc  are  greatly  benefited  thereby.  In  medical 
societies  something  is  done  in  this  direction. 

The  practitioner  should  remember  that  he  deals 
with  life  that  is  complex;  not  complex  simply  be- 
cause of  the  innumerable  unlike  parts  which  compose 
the  body,  but  especially  from  the  intimate  and  intro- 
active  relations  of  mind  and  body.  How  the 
two  are  united  no  one,  it  has  been  said,  knows,  but 
that  there  is  a  mutual  dependence  cannot  be  doubted. 
Admitting  the  influence  of  mind,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  go  as  far  as  some  erratic  thinkers  who  teach  that 
there  is  nothing  but  mind ;  that  that  which  seems  to 
be  sensuously  real  is  actually  unreal;  and  that  all 
effective  treatment  is  purely  mental.  It  has  been 
understood  from  time  immemorial  that  the  mental 
influences  the  physiological,  and  that  no  system  of 
medicine  is  rational  which  leaves  this  out  of  the 
account.  Sorrow  takes  away  the  appetite ;  affliction 
sometimes  dries  up  the  fountain  of  tears,  and  melan- 
cholia or  insanity  may  supervene;  the  patient's  an- 
ticipation of  death  prepares  the  way  for  his  dissolu- 
tion ;  homesickness  is  often  a  fatal  malady ;  the  way 
we  look  upon  life,  even,  may  modify  the  action  of 
the  physical  powers.  Hence  our  creeds  may  con- 
spire to  lengthen  or  shorten  our  days.  Tempera- 
ment must  not  be  disregarded.  Our  social  nature,  joy- 
ous or  morose,  our  mingling  with  the  cheerful  or 
the  downcast,  takes  hold  of  our  physical  powers, 
stimulating  or  depressing  their  action.     When  the 


90  Choosing  a  Lifework 

patient  smiles  and  thinks  he  may  get  well  there  is 
hope  of  his  recovery.  Even  the  will  is  sometimes  a 
determining  force.  If  a  sick  man  says,  ''I  will  not 
die,"  it  is  often  true  that  health  comes  back  again. 
Death  has  been  cheated  of  many  a  victim  because 
the  patient  would  not  surrender.  You  do  not  treat 
a  human  being  as  you  would  a  dumb  beast,  because 
you  must  reckon  with  the  intellect  that  thinks,  the 
sensibilities  that  feel,  and  the  will  that  resolves. 

The  physician  should  be  a  psychologist.  There 
ought  to  be  a  thorough  study  of  the  mental  faculties, 
of  their  action  on  the  body  through  the  nervous 
system,  the  tendency  of  the  greater  or  less  activity 
of  mind  energy,  and  abnormal  manifestations  of  in- 
tellectual and  emotional  life.  No  one  can  intelli- 
gently treat  a  patient,  especially  when  suffering  from 
certain  forms  of  disease,  unless  he  be  a  profound 
student  in  the  realm  of  mind. 

Heredity  should  receive  your  attention.  What 
was  the  patient's  father,  his  grandfather,  his  great- 
grandfather? All  physicians  recognize  the  value 
of  a  knowledge  of  the  past  life  of  the  patient  in  re- 
lation to  disease,  the  trend  of  the  physical  forces, 
the  greater  or  less  obstinacy  of  maladies  under  treat- 
ment, the  special  effects  of  medicines  used.  But  the 
constitution  may  be  subject  to  tendencies  which  take 
their  rise  back  several  generations.  The  more  fully 
the  physician  understands  that  which  is  involved 
in  the  line  of  descent  the  more  intelligent  his  efforts 
for  the  good  of  the  sick. 


The  Physician  91 

It  IS  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  before  treat- 
ment comes  the  determination  of  disease.  Nothing 
can  be  more  important  than  a  correct  diagnosis. 
For  this  part  of  your  work  you  should  prepare  your- 
self by  the  closest  study  and  painstaking  observation, 
and  you  should  exercise  the  greatest  care.  The  seat 
of  the  disease,  as  has  before  been  said,  is  not  com- 
monly in  sight.  You  cannot  see  the  heart,  nor  the 
lungs,  nor  the  stomach,  nor  the  intestines.  The 
body,  you  know,  is  an  aggregation  of  almost  in- 
numerable parts,  each  having  a  distinct  office,  but 
fortunately  articulated,  or  at  least  in  active  relation 
one  with  the  other.  There  is  a  oneness  in  our 
physical  organization,  so  that  we  can  get  reports 
from  that  which  eludes  direct  observation.  The 
pulse  makes  known  to  us  the  condition  of  the  heart, 
and  the  tongue  the  state  of  the  stomach.  By  means 
of  the  stethoscope  we  are  able  to  detect  that  which 
is  abnormal  in  the  state  of  the  lungs.  The  ther- 
mometer reveals  the  temperature  of  the  body.  The 
skin  tells  of  the  raging  fires  within,  or  shows  us  that 
those  fires  are  mostly  gone  out.  There  are  hundreds 
of  varying  states  of  the  body,  each  having  some 
special  significance  and  which  may  be  correctly  or 
incorrectly  interpreted.  This  is  a  book  which  can- 
not be  too  carefully  or  too  constantly  read,  to  which 
you  cannot  give  too  much  thought. 

Often  the  indications  are  so  blind,  or  may  result 
from  such  diverse  causes,  that  no  positive  determi- 
nation can  be  made.     This  must  give  the  physician 


92  Choosing  a  Lifework 

much  concern,  and  the  fact  deters  many  from  enter- 
ing a  profession  in  which  mistakes  that  are  harmful 
— perhaps  fatal — may  be  made,  even  by  most  care- 
ful and  intelligent  practitioners. 

There  is  a  code  of  ethics  you  must  scrupulously 
observe.  No  secrets  must  be  kept  from  the  profes- 
sion; your  entire  experience  must  be  open  to  the 
light  of  day.  To  take  advantage,  in  any  way,  of  a 
brother  practitioner  is  held  to  deserve  the  severest 
condemnation.  You  may  not  cover  up  your  practice 
to  gain  a  reputation,  or  to  keep  others  from  under- 
standing the  source  of  your  skill ;  the  sick,  whether 
under  your  treatment  or  that  of  other  practitioners, 
are  entitled  to  all  the  knowledge  you  possess.  And, 
on  the  other  hand,  when  uncertainty  arises  as  to 
what  should  be  done  a  consultation  is  imperative. 
While  you  must  fully  impart,  you  must  not  fail  to 
seek  aid  that  is  needed.  You  must  be  frank  with 
the  members  of  the  profession.  You  may  not  adver- 
tise special  medicines  as  known  only  to  yourself. 
Your  business  methods  in  connection  with  your 
practice  must  be  so  conducted  that  the  largest  bene- 
fit may  come  to  the  profession,  and  be  of  the  widest 
service  to  the  community. 

But,  while  the  foregoing  is  true,  you  are  still  to  be 
a  keeper  of  secrets,  secrets  that  are  of  a  personal 
nature.  Your  attitude  to  your  patients  should  be 
such  that  they  will  tell  you  everything  about  them- 
selves which  you  need  to  know,  things  that  will 
enable  you  to  act  intelligently  in  their  behalf.     This 


The  Physician  93 

knowledge  you  should  seek  for  their  good,  and  not 
betray  the  confidence  reposed  in  you.  The  opposite 
course  would  be  productive  of  much  harm.  The 
postmaster  would  have  as  much  right  to  open  letters 
which  pass  through  his  hands,  and  make  the  con- 
tents public,  as  you  to  retail  what  was  meant  for  your 
ears  alone. 

You  should  be  a  gentleman  in  the  sick  room. 
Although  you  are  entitled  to  information  that  may 
not  be  a  common  topic  of  conversation,  you  should 
seek  for  it  in  a  delicate,  not  ofifensive  way,  only  ask- 
ing questions  so  far  as  required.  By  this  it  is  not 
meant  that  you  should  be  hesitant  in  your  treatment 
or  inquiries,  but  that  you  should  not  be  brusque  or 
boorish;  you  are  to  act  with  professional  courtesy 
and  decorum. 

The  Hippocratic  oath,  introduced  into  the  medical 
societies  of  Greece  more  than  two  thousand  years 
ago  and  administered  in  many  schools  to-day,  is 
worthy  of  record :  'T  swear  by  Apollo  the  physician, 
by  /Esculapius,  by  Hygeia,  by  Panacea,  and  by  all 
gods  and  goddesses,  that  I  will  fulfill  religiously, 
according  to  my  powers  and  judgment,  the  solemn 
vow  which  I  now  make.  I  will  honor  as  my  father 
the  master  who  taught  me  the  art  of  medicine;  his 
children  I  will  consider  as  my  brothers,  and  teach 
them  my  profession  without  fee  or  reward.  I  will 
admit  to  my  lectures  and  discourses  my  own  sons, 
my  master's  sons,  and  those  pupils  who  have  taken 
the  medical  oath,  but  no  one  else.     I  will  prescribe 


94  Choosing  a  Lifework 

such  medicines  as  may  be  best  suited  to  the  cases 
of  my  patients,  according  to  the  best  of  my  judg- 
ment, and  no  temptation  shall  ever  induce  me  to 
administer  poison.  I  will  religiously  maintain  the 
purity  of  my  character  and  the  honor  of  my  art.  I 
will  not  perform  the  operation  of  lithotomy,  but 
leave  it  to  those  to  whose  calling  it  belongs.  Into 
whatever  house  I  enter  I  will  enter  it  with  the  sole 
view  of  relieving  the  sick,  and  conduct  myself  with 
propriety  toward  the  women  of  the  family.  If 
during  my  attendance  I  happen  to  hear  of  anything 
that  should  not  be  revealed,  I  will  keep  it  a  profound 
secret.  If  I  observe  this  oath,  may  I  have  success 
in  this  life,  and  may  I  obtain  general  esteem  after  it ; 
if  I  break  it,  may  the  contrary  be  my  lot." 

There  are  several  questions  you  may  need  to  con- 
sider :  Have  you  adaptation  to  the  work  of  the  pro- 
fession? Have  you  a  liking  for  the  study  of  medi- 
cine? Does  the  sick  room  draw,  or  repel  you? 
Does  your  temperament  lead  you  to  sympathize 
with  those  who  are  in  affliction  ?  Can  you  be  cheer- 
ful in  the  house  of  pain?  Can  you  control  your 
nerves  in  the  presence  of  danger  and  death?  Can 
you  inspire  confidence  in  the  heart  of  the  man  or 
woman  who  is  in  physical  suffering?  Are  you 
willing  to  spend  your  life  in  an  atmosphere  of  sor- 
row and  mental  depression  ?  Do  you  delight  in  the 
privilege  of  administering  to  the  afflicted,  in  seeking 
to  relieve  pain?  Are  you  adapted  to  the  work  of 
cheering  up  the  spirits  that  have  been  bowed  down 


The  Physician  95 

to  the  earth?  This  is  a  great  heart  problem,  and 
what  is  the  sokition  reached? 

We  have  called  your  attention  to  the  fact  that 
much  time  must  be  consumed  and  money  expended 
in  order  that  adequate  preparation  for  success  in  the 
practice  of  medicine  be  gained.  After  finishing 
your  academic  studies,  and  devoting  three  or  four 
years  to  professional  preparation,  further  expenses 
must  be  incurred.  Instruments  and  books  must  be 
purchased.  Now,  medical  books  and  other  appli- 
ances are  costly ;  and  besides,  in  most  cases,  the  get- 
ting into  practice  is  a  slow  process.  Unless  you  have 
spent  some  considerable  time  in  hospital  service,  in 
addition  to  that  which  came  in  your  undergraduate 
course,  the  public  will  pass  you  by  on  the  ground  that 
you  have  not  had  adequate  experience.  Though  you 
may  be  familiar  with  modern  methods,  which  many 
older  men  have  not  stopped  to  acquire,  this  is  not 
well  understood,  and  you  must  be  content  to  wait 
patiently  for  fortune  to  throw  business  in  your  way. 
In  the  meantime  you  should  assiduously  apply 
yourself  to  study,  that,  as  opportunity  opens,  the 
best  work  may  be  done. 

You  will  find  it  profitable  to  make  of  human  char- 
acter a  special  study.  You  are  to  deal  with  the  people. 
You  do  not  solicit  patronage,  but  you  must  get  it 
or  your  professional  life  will  be  a  failure.  The 
types  of  men  and  women — social  and  intellectual — 
greatly  vary,  but  they  must  all  at  times  summon  the 
physician  to  their  bedside.     You  desire  this  practice. 


96  Choosing  a  Lifework 

Much  will  depend  on  your  personal  relations  with 
the  people.  Courteous,  social — at  least  agreeable— 
you  can  be,  without  sacrifice  of  principle  and  with- 
out lowering  your  manhood.  To  know  how  to  ap- 
proach people  so  that  they  will  prize  your  friendship, 
and  look  up  to  you  in  general  and  professional  life, 
is  a  talent  or  acquirement  of  no  small  importance. 
And  this  qualification  will  often  be  of  great  use  to 
you  in  the  sick  room  itself.  Though  ^'harmless  as 
doves/'  you  must  be  ''wise  as  serpents."  These  are 
personal  qualifications,  in  addition  to  extensive 
knowledge  and  professional  skill,  which  are  entitled 
to  your  consideration.  A  gentleman  everywhere, 
agreeable,  but  versatile,  this  is  manliness  that  fits 
into  life  with  the  prospect  of  most  effective  results. 

One  thing  you  will  find,  and  that  is  that  the  world 
is  full  of  medical  quacks,  who  parade  their  assum^."" 
merits  and  impose  on  the  people.  They  exhibit 
nostrums  which  they  claim  to  be  panaceas.  There 
is  no  profession  in  which  deceit  can  be  more  readily 
practiced.  It  is  difficult  to  convince  people  that 
these  men  are  quacks,  and  the  charlatan  may  secure 
a  large  following  in  spite  of  his  incompetency.  The 
science  of  medicine  being  occult,  the  exposure  of 
fraud  is  by  no  means  easily  accomplished. 

But,  while  this  class  of  specialists  are  mounte- 
banks, there  are  specialists  whose  range  of  practice 
is  limited  because  they  choose  to  give  more  attention 
to  certain  branches  of  medical  science  than  general 
practice  would  allow.     Of  the  eye,  the  ear,  pulmor 


The  Physician  97 

nary  diseases,  nervous  afifections,  insanity,  there  are 
many  forms  of  disorder  of  sufficient  scope,  special 
in  their  nature,  to  which  a  physician  may  turn  his 
attention,  and  which  are  entitled  to  the  most  pro- 
found study.  No  one  will  dispute  that  there  is  so 
much  involved  in  surgery  that  it  may  well  be  an 
exclusive  department  of  the  profession.  Whether 
your  practice  shall  be  general  or  special  is  for  you 
to  decide  from  personal  preference,  demand  for 
service,  or  opportunity  for  preparation.  But  should 
you  become  a  specialist,  you  should  lay  a  foundation 
in  general  study. 

You  should  bear  in  mind  that  there  are  times 
when  the  physician  is  exposed  to  special  dangers. 
He  must  respond  to  the  calls  made  on  him  even  if 
the  disease  be  contagious.  He  must  not  refuse  to 
care  for  those  who  are  prostrated  with  diphtheria 
or  scarlet  fever  or  smallpox.  This  is  all  embraced  in 
his  professional  field.  The  layman  may  consult  his 
personal  interest  and  put  himself  beyond  the  danger 
line — indeed,  the  community  from  self-interest  may 
insist  that  he  shall  not  allow  himself  to  contract  any 
contagious  disease — ^but  the  medical  practitioner 
must  go  where  danger  lurks. 

Another  thing  it  is  worth  your  while  to  consider. 
The  physician  is  not  uncommonly  the  last  creditor  to 
receive  his  pay.  Debts  due  the  banker,  the  merchant, 
and  even  the  minister  may  be  promptly  settled,  while 
the  claims  of  the  physician  are  neglected,  and  not 
unfrequently    are    wholly    disregarded.     It    would 


98  Choosing  a  Lifework 

seem  that  gratitude — if  not  honesty — would  prompt 
an  early  settlement  of  such  bills.  While  in  attend- 
ance upon  the  sick  he  is  loved  and  honored  above 
everyone  else,  but  when  the  need  of  his  ministrations 
ceases  he  is  likely  to  be  treated  the  most  unfairly  of 
all.  And  you  will  find  he  has  the  largest  percentage 
of  uncollectable  debts  of  all  professional  rrten.  Pity 
may  prompt  you  to  render  service  in  cases  where 
there  is  little  prospect  of  reward.  You  expect  large 
losses  from  this  class.  The  poor  must  be  cared  for 
though  compensation  be  out  of  the  question.  No 
one  else  bestows  so  much  unrequited  service  as  the 
medical  practitioner. 

Shall  I  enter  the  medical  profession?  It  is  a 
learned  profession ;  it  is  honorable ;  it  is  useful ;  it  is 
beneficent;  it  is  intellectual  and  disciplinary;  it 
awakens  the  closest  friendships.  Yet  it  requires 
much  time  for  preparation ;  it  is  laborious ;  the  time 
is  spent  in  the  midst  of  pain  and  sorrow,  and  the 
profession  is  but  moderately  lucrative.  But  he  who 
achieves  success  in  any  line  of  life  must  put  forth 
vigorous  and  continuous  effort.  In  order  to  reap 
there  must  be  the  sowing. 


The    Legal    Profession  99 


CHAPTER  VIII 
The  Legal  Profession 

Law  is  an  order  of  sequence;  it  is  existing  or 
established  uniformity  of  being  or  action.  Finding 
that  which  is  invariable,  we  find  law.  It  is  conceded 
that  the  entire  universe,  from  the  atom  up  to  the 
most  complex  system  of  worlds,  is  within  the  do- 
main of  law.  This  is  necessarily  affirmed  as  a  basis 
of  truth  in  every  department  of  being.  The  prin- 
ciples of  mathematics  are  no  more  absolute  than  the 
uniformity  of  nature.  If  law  be  necessary  for  the 
interaction  of  all  material  objects,  it  certainly  cannot 
be  dispensed  with  when  realities  rise  to  the  highest 
condition  of  complexity,  as  in  man. 

The  state  is  composite  human  life.  Not  only  in 
view  of  the  genesis  of  the  race  do  social  relations 
exist,  but  from  the  very  constitution  of  our  being. 
People  do  not  associate  together  because  from  expe- 
rience they  have  found  it  to  be  profitable  or  conven- 
ient. They  have  never  tried  the  experiment  of  dis- 
sociation. The  arm  is  no  more  an  integral  part  of  the 
body  than  a  human  intelligence  is  an  integral  part 
of  a  natural  organic  social  unit  which  we  call  the 
race.  We  live  together  because  this  only  is  life; 
because  there  is  no  other  way  to  live  without  fight- 
ing every  impulse  of  our  nature.  To  sever  the 
social  is  death. 


loo  Choosing  a  Lifework 

The  idea  of  the  state  necessarily  involves  govern- 
ment. Human  wills  are  liable  to  clash ;  human  in- 
terests are  often  in  conflict.  Nowhere  have  men 
been  able  to  live  together  without  law.  The  rudest 
tribes  of  men  have  some  form  of  jurisprudence  to 
regulate  conduct  and  punish  wrongdoing.  Black- 
stone  defines  municipal  law  to  be  a  ''rule  of  civil 
conduct  prescribed  by  the  supreme  power  of  the 
state  commanding  what  is  right  and  prohibiting 
what  is  wrong.''  Justice  James  Wilson,  in  his  work 
on  Jurisprudence  and  Political  Science,  takes  issue 
with  Blackstone  as  to  law  being  necessarily  pre- 
scribed by  the  supreme  power  of  the  state.  He 
shows  that  supremacy,  in  this  country  certainly,  does 
not  exist  in  the  legislative  body  alone. 

By  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  the 
several  States  of  the  Union  government  consists  of 
three  coordinate  branches :  legislative,  executive, 
and  judicial.  No  one  of  these  can  exercise  the 
prerogatives  of  either  of  the  others.  The  legislative 
is  supreme  only  for  legislation;  it  is  not  executive, 
it  is  not  judicial;  to  perform  executive  or  judicial 
acts  would  be  usurpation.  And  back  of  all  these 
branches  of  government  are  the  people,  who,  in 
ordaining  the  Constitution,  have  in  their  sovereign 
capacity  created  these  departments.  Alone  supreme, 
in  the  organic  law  they  have  limited  each  branch 
by  assigning  special  and  restricted  powers.  Indeed, 
every  law  enacted  by  the  legislative  body  is,  under 
certain  conditions,  subject  to  review  by  the  judiciary. 


The    Legal    ERaFE5.si<>N  :     :    :     ,joi 

and  may  be  set  aside  as  out  of  harmony  with  the 
Constitution  prescribed  by  the  people.  Therefore 
the  judiciary,  whose  business  it  is  to  determine  the 
vahdity  of  law  and,  if  found  to  be  valid,  to  inter- 
pret and  apply  the  same,  possesses  extensive  power 
secondary  to  no  other  branch  of  the  government, 
and  is  of  great  importance  in  civil  affairs.  So  vital 
to  the  welfare  of  the  state  is  the  application  of  law 
to  human  conduct,  in  the  defense  of  right,  there  has 
grown  up  a  profession,  called  the  'legal  profession," 
of  which  the  gtate  takes  direct  cognizance.  Persons 
entering  this  profession  must  furnish  such  evidence 
of  knowledge  of  law  as  will  satisfy  courts  of 
justice  that  they  are  qualified  to  represent  intelli- 
gently individuals  who  have  cases  to  adjudicate 
under  the  laws  of  the  land,  and  to  aid  such  courts 
in  reaching  a  right  decision. 

The  specific  need  of  this  profession  is  apparent 
when  we  look  over  the  field  in  which  it  is  employed. 
There  is  in  society  an  infinite  diversity  of  interests, 
and  in  the  nature  of  the  case  each  individual  is  a 
center  where  innumerable  desires  cluster.  All  values 
are  the  result  of  the  action  of  personal  powers.  To 
how  much  of  the  accumulated  capital  of  the  world 
or  the  community,  and  to  what  portion  of  such 
capital,  is  each  one  entitled?  Though  every  man 
or  woman  may  have  a  specific  employment  unshared 
by  any  other,  still  there  is  mutual  dependence.  In 
an  ultimate  sense  all  industries  are  both  interdepend- 
ent and  cooperative.     Because  another  desires  what 


I02  CilOOSJNQ   X  ilFEWORK 

I  have  produced  commercial  utility  is  created.  Price 
and  wages  are  the  exponents  of  value.  The  millions 
that  compose  the  race,  acting  each  with  a  special 
end  in  view  and  proceeding  along  innumerable  lines 
of  industry,  necessarily  introduce  complexity  into 
human  affairs  which  it  is  very  difficult  to  unravel. 
As  civilization  increases  this  complexity  becomes 
greater  because  of  new  realities  and  added  employ- 
ments. There  are  rights  of  individuals,  rights  of 
partners,  rights  of  corporations,  rights  of  the 
state,  rights  of  manual  industries,  rights  of 
property,  rights  of  person,  rights  of  citizenship, 
rights  of  authorship,  marital  rights,  parental  rights, 
filial  rights,  rights  of  reputation — indeed,  to  enumer- 
ate them  all  would  be  a  wearisome  task,  and  if  com- 
pleted to-day,  we  must  begin  again  to-morrow. 
These,  though  seemingly  distinct,  run  more  or  less 
into  each  other,  and  give  rise  to  innumerable  ques- 
tions, both  moral  and  judicial. 

But  it  is  generally  more  than  a  problem  of  rights 
as  understood  by  the  individual;  it  is  a  problem  of 
contested  rights.  Neighbors  do  not  always  agree; 
one  claims  more  than  the  other  will  concede.  With 
a  judge  only,  or  judge  and  jury,  the  court  is  in- 
complete ;  by  means  of  legal  practitioners  both  sides 
of  a  case  may  be  thoroughly  investigated  and  pre- 
sented before  the  court  so  that  a  righteous  decision 
can  be  rendered.  And  it  is  not  always  true  that  in 
litigation  one  side  is  seeking  to  wrong  the  other.  In 
many  instances  the  line  of  justice  is  not  plainly  seen. 


The    Legal    Profession  103 

Even  if  all  men  were  honest,  courts  of  law  might 
still  be  a  necessity.  This  is  called  a  ^'learned  pro- 
fession" because  extensive  legal  knowledge  is  re- 
quired to  meet  all  its  demands.  So  wide  is  the 
field  of  practice  that  some  lawyers  confine  them- 
selves to  a  single  department;  they  do  not  attempt 
to  occupy  the  whole  realm  of  legal  proceedings. 

As  to  its  genesis,  and  somewhat  as  to  its  character, 
law  in  general  might  be  divided  into  two  classes, 
common  law  and  statutory  law.  Common  law  is  a 
body  of  principles  which  have  come  to  be  accepted 
by  the  people  as  a  rule  of  justice.  As  Blackstone 
tells  us,  the  English  municipal  law,  or  the  rule  of 
civil  conduct  prescribed  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
kingdom,  has  been  ^'divided  into  two  kinds,  the 
lex  non  scripta,  the  unwritten  or  common  law,  and 
the  lex  scripta,  the  written  or  statute  law."  He  adds : 
*T  would  not  be  understood  as  saying  that  leges  non 
scriptce,  the  unwritten  laws,  are  merely  oral,  com- 
municated from  former  ages  to  the  present  solely 
by  word  of  mouth.  The  monuments  and  evidences 
of  our  legal  customs  are  contained  in  the  records 
of  the  several  courts  of  justice,  in  books  of  reports 
and  judicial  decisions,  and  in  the  treatises  of  the 
learned  sages  of  the  profession,  preserved  and  hand- 
ed down  to  us  from  the  times  of  highest  antiquity. 
I  style  these  parts  of  our  law  leges  non  scripfce 
because  their  original  institution  and  authority  are 
not  set  down  in  writing  as  acts  of  Parliament,  but 
they  receive  their  binding  power  and  force  of  laws 


I04  Choosing  a  Lifework 

by  long  and  immemorial  usage,  and  by  their  univer- 
sal reception  throughout  the  kingdom."  The  lexi- 
cographer tells  us  that  "common  law  is  a  system  of 
jurisprudence  developing  under  the  guidance  of  the 
courts,  so  as  to  apply  a  consistent  and  reasonable 
rule  to  each  litigated  case;''  that  it  is  "a  rule  of 
action  founded  on  long  usage  and  the  decisions  of 
the  courts  of  justice.''  To  use  the  language  of 
another  writer,  ''Common  law  consists  of  principles 
derived  from  a  collation  of  precedents  or  decisions  of 
actual  cases."  Common  law  and  legal  precedents 
are  almost  synonymous  terms.  To  quote  Wharton, 
"Common  law  receives  its  binding  force  from  im- 
mernorial  usage  and  universal  reception  as  ascer- 
tained and  expressed  in  the  judgments  of  courts." 
Wilson  tells  us  that  "the  antiquity  of  the  common 
law  of  England  is  unquestionably  very  high." 
Fundamentally  it  largely  rests  on  the  institutions 
and  legal  procedure  of  the  Saxons. 

Statute  laws  are  acts  passed  by  a  legislative  body 
"declaring,  commanding,  or  prohibiting  something." 
Such  laws  are  specific  and  local  in  scope,  each  state 
or  country  having  its  own  code  of  enactments.  They 
are  public,  as  affecting  all  persons  within  the  com- 
monwealth, or  private  when  they  affect  some  par- 
ticular class  of  persons  or  relate  to  matters  of  local 
interest.  In  this  country  they  are  framed  according 
to  a  certain  form,  and  the  body  of  the  law  must 
agree  with  the  title.  They  may  be  repealed  or 
added  to  by  the  legislative  body. 


The    Legal    Profession  105 

Courts  are  divided  into  law  courts  and  equity 
courts.  They  differ  as  to  their  mode  of  procedure. 
The  term  equity  courts  must  not  be  construed  as 
favoring  the  notion  that  injustice  inheres  in  law 
courts;  but  there  is  a  department  of  jurisprudence, 
designated  equity,  which  is  supplemental  to  law 
properly  so  called,  and  complemental  thereto. 
''Common  law  forms  are  not  hostile  to  right,  but  in 
some  cases  they  are  inadequate  to  secure  justice." 
Equity  or  chancery  proceedings  supply  the  defect. 
Complete  remedy  cannot  always  be  had  in  courts 
of  common  law.  In  this  country,  in  some  States, 
the  same  tribunal  may  and  sometimes  does  exer- 
cise jurisdiction  as  a  court  of  law  and  court  of 
equity  as  the  subject  to  be  adjudged  may  require. 
But  in  other  States  these  courts  are  distinct  tribu- 
nals, not  exercising  this  twofold  jurisdiction.  Law- 
yers commonly  practice  in  either  court  as  occasion 
arises ;  but  in  large  cities  some  restrict  their  practice 
to  law  courts,  others  to  equity  courts,  where  the 
amount  of  business  is  sufficient  to  allow  of  this 
specialization. 

There  is  a  class  of  causes  which  are  peculiar, 
relating  to  interests  upon  the  sea,  such  as  maritime 
contracts,  torts,  collisions  at  sea,  cases  of  prizes  in 
war,  salvage,  surveys,  pilotage,  wharfage,  sea- 
men's wages,  imprisonment  or  improper  treatment 
of  sailors  or  passengers,  and  all  other  damages  and 
injuries  done  on  the  high  seas.  "In  this  country 
admiralty  jurisdiction  is  extended  also  to  matters 


io6  Choosing  a  Lifework 

arising  out  of  the  navigation  of  any  public  waters,  as 
the  great  lakes  and  rivers."  It  is  evident  that  with 
the  rapid  increase  of  commerce  and  the  marvelous 
growth  of  the  navies  of  the  world  this  admiralty 
jurisdiction  is  of  the  greatest  importance.  In  the 
United  States  there  are  no  exclusive  admiralty 
courts,  but  jurisdiction  is  exercised  by  the  district 
courts,  from  which  appeal  may  be  taken  to  the 
United  States  Circuit  Court  or  the  Supreme  Court, 
depending  on  the  value  of  the  matter  in  dispute. 
We  have  lawyers  who  give  their  whole  time  to  ad- 
miralty practice,  and  in  this  there  is  certainly  a 
great  and  adequate  field  for  our  best  legal  talent. 

There  is  another  branch  of  the  law  quite  foreign 
to  those  branches  already  specified.  It  is  not  en- 
acted by  any  legislative  body,  and  there  are  no  courts 
having  jurisdiction.  We  speak  now  of  international 
law.  It  consists  of  rules  regulating  the  relation  of 
nations  to  each  other.  Perhaps  we  should  limit  it 
to  the  rules  which  Christian  nations  regard  as  oblig- 
atory, as  it  has  been  established  by  these  nations 
only,  though  enforced  upon  others.  It  is  the  result 
of  international  conferences,  diplomatic  discussions, 
and  the  principles  involved  in  treaties.  It  is  the 
formulated  principles  governing  international  in- 
tercourse. In  the  mode  of  its  development  it  is 
somewhat  analogous  to  the  common  law. 

International  law  is  attended  with  some  degree  of 
uncertainty,  as  there  are  no  authoritative  tribunals 
for  its  interpretation  and  enforcement.     It  depends 


The    Legal    Profession        ^       107 

for  its  execution  on  the  conscience  and  sense  of  right 
of  the  several  nations  and  the  danger  of  war  if  its 
principles  be  disregarded.  There  are  no  umpires  to 
whom  disputes  can  be  referred.  Even  in  case  of 
courts  of  arbitration  there  is  no  general  executive 
to  carry  decisions  into  effect.  If  a  nation  declines 
to  abide  by  the  decisions  reached,  there  is  no  redress 
aside  from  a  resort  to  war.  Yet  could  the  nations 
agree  upon  a  court  of  arbitration,  which  now  seems 
probable,  and  for  which  steps  have  been  taken,  an 
important  advance  would  be  made  in  securing  peace 
and  guarding  right  among  the  peoples  of  the  earth. 
The  ratification  by  the  nations  of  the  agreements 
of  the  Peace  Convention  recently  held  at  The  Hague 
will  establish  a  central  Arbitration  Bureau. 

As  we  have  no  courts  of  international  law  this 
interest  does  not  come  within  the  scope  of  legal 
proceedings.  It  is  a  field  for  statesmanship  rather 
than  judicial  cognizance.  Attention  is  here  called 
to  it  because  principles  of  justice  are  involved,  and 
to  remind  you  that,  as  yet,  it  is  removed  from  the 
domain  specially  occupied  by  the  legal  profession. 

The  profession  of  law  provides  for  two  classes  of 
lawyers  whose  functions  in  the  courts  are  quite  un- 
like; one  is  the  advocate,  the  other  the  judge.  The 
advocate  is  employed  on  one  side  of  a  case,  repre- 
senting an  individual  or  corporation,  or  if  a  public 
prosecutor,  the  people.  It  is  his  business  to  do  the 
best  he  can  for  the  interests  in  his  hands.  Here  is 
an  opportunity  for  the  display  of  shrewdness;  it  is 


io8  Choosing  a  Lifework 

a  field  where  superior  talents  may  be  called  into 
exercise.  As  the  advocate  acts  solely  in  behalf  of 
one  side  of  a  case  it  might  be  supposed  that  justice 
would  suffer.  But  he  confronts  an  opposing  attor- 
ney supposed  to  be  equally  vigilant  and  learned. 
Then  there  sits  on  the  bench  a  man  who  is  not  a 
partisan,  whose  office  it  is  to  secure  the  triumph  of 
right.  He  is  supposed  to  have  no  predilections  or 
prejudices.  He  holds  in  his  hands  the  scales  of 
justice,  and  impartially  weighs  all  that  is  submitted 
to  him.  He  listens  patiently  to  the  testimony  and 
arguments,  notes  the  applicability  and  force  of  the 
law  read  and  precedents  quoted,  and  decides  accord- 
ing to  his  unbiased  judgment;  or  instructs  the  jury 
as  to  the  meaning  and  intent  of  the  law  under  which 
the  action  is  brought,  that  the  case  may  be  rightfully 
decided  on  the  facts  submitted. 

Eloquent  advocates  do  not  always  make  good 
judges,  and  able  judges^  are  not  necessarily  fitted  to 
be  successful  advocates.  He  who  is  on  the  bench 
should  have  what  is  commonly  designated  a  judicial 
temperament,  the  disposition  and  ability  to  hold  the 
scales  of  justice  with  an  even  hand.  He  should  be 
a  man  not  only  scholarly,  and  of  strong  intellectual 
powers,  but  of  the  most  unswerving  moral  integrity. 
He  need  not  be  eloquent,  but  he  must  be  able  to  ana- 
lyze eloquence  and  assign  to  it  its  proper  value. 
Self-poised,  guarding  one  side  with  the  same  as- 
siduity as  the  other,  his  sole  concern  must  be  that 
right  shall  prevail.  In  him  we  find  the  culmination  of 


The    Legal    Profession  109 

that  which  is  useful  and  glorious  in  the  profession. 
In  estimating  the  practical  value  of  law  the  judge 
on  the  bench  must  be  taken  as  its  center,  regulating 
and  incorporating  into  our  civilization  that  which 
is  of  the  highest  importance  to  the  interests  of  the 
public. 

In  the  legal  profession  it  is  expected  that  a  law- 
yer will  stand  by  his  client.  This  principle  has  been 
sharply  criticised.  A  person  arrested  for  crime  has 
rights  at  the  bar,  and  his  attorney  should  see  to  it 
that  those  rights  are  not  violated.  He  is  not  to  be 
punished  solely  as  the  result  of  guilt,  but  as  the 
result  of  guilt  proven.  Though  judge  and  jury  both 
should  be  convinced  of  his  guilt,  unless  the  same  be 
established  by  testimony  beyond  a  reasonable  doubt, 
he  should  be  declared  innocent.  If  this  principle  be 
transgressed,  it  is  judicial  malfeasance.  Conviction 
without  adequate  proof  is  a  terrible  wrong ;  it  is, 
indeed,  a  crime.  If  permitted,  no  innocent  man  is 
safe.  A  lawyer  acts  in  the  interest  of  justice,  in 
behalf  of  human  rights,  when  he  insists  that  all  the 
forms  of  legal  procedure  be  observed,  and  that 
damaging  testimony  rendered  shall  not  be  allowed 
to  have  undue  weight.  While  the  public  is  interested 
in  the  suppression  of  crime,  it  is  equally  interested 
in  the  protection  of  all  who  are  innocent. 

It  is  a  very  common  belief  that  trickery  is  neces- 
sarily incident  to  the  practice  of  law;  that  lawyers 
not  only  on  occasion  make  wrong  appear  to  be  right, 
but  that,  standing  by  their  clients,  they  are  obliged 


no  Choosing  a  Lifework 

to  do  this.  Nothing  is  further  from  the  truth.  A 
lawyer  has  no  right  to  pledge  his  client  anything 
further  than  that  he  will  stand  by  him  and  see  that 
justice  is  done.  There  are  strong  temptations,  as 
in  every  other  vocation,  to  take  advantage  of  condi- 
tions to  win  his  case.  The  inclination  to  do  this  is 
very  powerful,  and  many  are  overcome  by  it.  But 
to  yield  is  weakness.  Honesty,  a  strict  fairness, 
adds  to  a  lawyer's  power.  It  gives  him  an  advan- 
tage in  every  case  he  tries.  Surely  as  law  is  ex- 
pected to  conserve  public  order  and  protect  the 
rights  of  the  citizen,  every  member  of  the  legal  pro- 
fession can  meet  his  obligations  to  the  state  only  as 
he  seeks  to  make  right  triumphant.  He  not  only 
has  a  standing  in  the  court  to  maintain,  but,  in  an 
important  sense,  is  an  officer  of  the  court,  and  is 
expected  to  cooperate  to  secure  the  ends  of  justice. 

The  strongest  moral  safeguards  are  thrown 
around  legal  procedure.  There  are  very  explicit 
provisions  formulated  in  our  law  books  to  prevent 
dishonest  legal  practices ;  and  these  are  enforced  by 
the  courts,  being  essentially  the  same  in  all  our  States. 
No  person  can  practice  as  an  attorney  or  counselor  at 
law  in  any  court  of  record  unless  he  be  approved  by 
the  court  for  his  good  character  as  well  as  his  learn- 
ing. To  be  admitted  to  practice  he  must  take  the 
constitutional  oath  of  office  in  open  court,  and  sub- 
scribe the  same  in  a  roll  or  book  kept  by  the  clerk 
for  this  purpose. 

Any  attorney,  solicitor,  or  counselor  may  be  re- 


The    Legal    Profession  in 

moved  or  suspended  who  shall  be  guilty  of  any 
deceit,  malpractice,  crime,  or  misdemeanor.  If  he 
shall  he  guilty  of  any  deceit  or  collusion,  or  shall 
consent  to  any  deceit  or  collusion,  with  intent  to 
deceive  the  court  or  any  party,  he  will  be  guilty  of 
misdemeanor  and,  on  conviction,  be  punished. 

That  the  reputation  of  an  attorney  is  notoriously 
bad  for  veracity,  and  that  he  is  not  to  be  believed 
under  oath,  is  good  cause  for  removal. 

Conviction  for  such  crimes  as  the  law  regards  as 
infamous,  such  as  obtaining  money  under  false 
pretenses,  also  gross  abuse  of  confidence,  is  sufficient 
for  disbarment;  and  a  disbarred  attorney  cannot 
practice  in  any  court  of  record. 

There  are  some  lawyers  who  are  enamored  with 
criminal  practice,  and  do  not  care  to  handle  civil 
cases.  They  delight  in  the  defense  of  the  criminal 
classes.  Many  of  our  best  law  writers  raise  a  note 
of  warning.  'Tn  America,''  says  Judge  Thomas  M. 
Cooley,  ^'we  meet  with  few  cases  of  lawyers  of  high 
standing  and  eminent  ability  who  give  themselves 
exclusively  to  the  defense  of  criminal  cases,  and  few 
of  that  kind  would  find  employment  sufficiently 
steady  and  remunerative  if  they  desired  to  do  so. 
The  criminal  lawyer  is  too  apt  to  be  a  man  who  is 
tainted  somewhat  by  his  associations,  and  who  fits 
himself  for  defending  vile  characters  by  imbibing 
more  or  less  of  their  vicious  tastes  and  habits." 
And  while  there  are  moral  dangers  which  beset  the 
pathway;  of  this  class  of  practitioners,  in  most  cases 


112  Choosing  a  Lifework 

also  are  they  tempted  to  neglect  that  wide  range  of 
study  so  essential  to  legal  scholarship.  There  is 
very  commonly  a  disposition  to  rely  on  gifts  of  ora- 
tory more  than  great  learning,  as  here,  indeed, 
oratory  is  more  effective  than  in  civil  suits.  Judge 
Cooley  exhorts  all  students,  however  talented,  not 
to  neglect  ''that  hard  labor  which  the  less  gifted 
would  be  compelled  to  perform,  but  the  benefit  of 
which  is  in  proportion  to  the  natural  powers  which 
it  supplements.''  If  criminal  practice  comes  in  your 
way,  it  is  wise  to  consider  it  as  only  a  part  of  your 
professional  work,  not  allowing  it  to  intoxicate  the 
life  by  its  excitements,  lest  the  inspiration  for  con- 
tinuous study  die  in  the  breast. 

Business  holds  out  larger  inducements  for  money- 
making  than  any  of  the  professions.  Salaries  or 
fees  are  wholly  outside  of  opportunities  for  shrewd 
investments.  Wealthy  professional  men  have 
mostly  gained  their  riches  by  business  ventures 
which  are  foreign  to  their  regular  vocation.  Yet 
there  are  some  lawyers  who,  because  of  their  great 
ability  and  high  standing,  receive  large  fees  which 
make  their  profession  lucrative.  These  belong  to 
the  minority.  Industry  will  enable  those  who 
possess  talents  which  authorize  them  to  enter  the 
law  to  gain  a  comfortable  livelihood,  but  a  consider- 
able number  that  have  been  admitted  to  the  bar 
would  much  better  seek  some  other  pursuit.  Even 
respectable  talents  do  not  always  succeed. 


The  Lawyer  113 


CHAPTER  IX 
The  Lawyer 

Judge  Cooley,  in  his  edition  of  Blackstone, 
speaks  of  the  lawyer's  need  of  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  English  history.  The  reason  for  this  is 
apparent.  In  the  history  of  England  we  get  the 
development  of  the  common  law.  He  who  knows 
only  abstractly  the  principles  of  law  knows  but  half 
of  that  which  the  law  contains;  to  know  it  all  he 
must  understand  the  civil  and  political  life  out  of 
which  the  formulation  of  principles  has  come.  In  no 
sense  is  the  English  common  law  an  arbitrary  code. 
It  is  the  growth  of  many  centuries.  It  marks  the 
progress  of  Anglo-Saxon  civilization.  It  is  nearly 
identical  with  the  English  Constitution.  It  is  an 
expression  of  the  best  thought  and  ripest  judgment 
of  the  great  statesmen  and  jurists  of  that  historic 
land.  And  it  is  evident  that  the  common  law  is  not 
an  ironclad  code.  The  advancement  of  civilization, 
the  appearance  of  new  industrial  interests,  the  in- 
creasing complexity  of  relations — all  of  this  pro- 
jecting of  new  problems  into  the  very  life  of  the 
public — must  result  in  the  elaboration  of  new  prin- 
ciples of  government  or  the  modification  of  that 
which  had  previously  guided  the  courts  in  making 
their  decisions. 

It  is  proper  to  remind  you  that  the  common  law 


114  Choosing  A  LiFEwoRic 

as  understood  and  applied  in  this  country  is  not 
strictly  identical  with  the  common  law  of  England, 
but  varies  to  the  extent  of  that  which  is  new  or  dis- 
similar in  our  institutions,  that  which  is  out  of 
harmony  with  English  civil  life.  But,  though  the 
forms  of  government  dififer  somewhat,  those  things 
which  are  deepest  in  the  spirit  and  movement  of  the 
two  nations  are  much  more  alike  than  unlike.  We 
come  closer  to  England,  though  a  monarchy,  than  to 
any  republic  found  in  the  old  world.  The  law  student 
should  make  Anglo-Saxon  civilization  as  wrought 
out  in  England  and  America  a  special  and  constant 
subject  of  study,  not  simply  as  this  civilization  ap- 
pears in  the  laws  enacted,  but  in  the  organic  and 
institutional  life  which  underlies  all  law. 

And  the  range  of  historical  study  should  be 
much  broader  than  this.  All  knowledge  is  relative. 
Any  subject  is  best  understood  when  considered 
both  in  its  agreement  and  disagreement  with  other 
cognate  subjects.  A  clearer  knowledge  of  that 
which  is  Anglo-Saxon  could  be  gained  by  its  com- 
parative study  with  the  history  of  the  Teutonic, 
the  Celtic,  and  the  Latin  races.  The  Dreyfus  case, 
in  France,  surprises  us  by  its  seeming  unfairness, 
but  it  serves  to  emphasize  that  which  is  rational  in 
our  judicial  procedure.  No  person  under  arrest  for 
any  supposed  crime  could  be  treated  by  us  as  he  has 
been  treated  there,  not  merely  because  our  judicial 
methods  would  not  allow  of  it,  but  because  it  is  out 
of  harmony  with  the  spirit  that  underlies  all  our  in- 


The  Lawyer  115 

stitutions.  There  is  a  natural  organic  life  on  which 
the  organism  of  the  state  rests,  and  which  is  the  soil 
from  which  the  organism  of  the  state  springs  and 
matures.  Laws  are  the  specific  manifestations  of 
the  character  of  the  country.  In  their  deeper  nature 
they  are  the  outgrowth  of  existing  institutions.  A 
lawyer  whose  intellectual  being  is  full  of  the  history 
of  a  nation,  who  has  found  the  very  roots  of  its 
legal  code,  who  is  familiar  with  the  development  of 
its  organic  life,  has  an  equipment  for  his  work  ten- 
fold more  effective  than  any  mere  looking  up  of 
authorities  can  possibly  give. 

The  foregoing  statements  presuppose  that  the 
student  appreciates  the  need  of  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  law  itself.  Without  this  success  is  im- 
possible. He  who  has  not  the  student  spirit  and 
habit  should  not  enter  the  profession.  This,  we 
have  said,  is  very  properly  called  a  learned  profession 
because  the  widest  range  of  legal  lore  is  required  to 
meet  demands  and  reasonable  expectations.  From 
the  moment  a  law  book  is  first  opened  until  practice 
is  abandoned  there  should  be  no  relaxation  from  pro- 
gressive study.  Knowledge,  with  the  mental  train- 
ing secured,  more  than  all  other  things  must  be  the 
endowment  gained. 

Still  further,  we  may  say  that  the  young  man  who 
proposes  to  enter  the  law  makes  a  mistake  if  he  does 
not  first  obtain  a  liberal  education.  This  has  not 
generally  been  required  as  preliminary  to  matricu- 
lation in  our  law  schools.     It  is  worthy  of  remark 


ii6  Choosing  a  Lifework 

that  Harvard  University  has  now  announced  her 
purpose  to  make  this  a  requirement  for  admission 
into  her  law  department  in  and  after  1903.  This  is  a 
step  which  all  similar  institutions  should  take.  For 
such  preparation  reasons  without  number  could  be 
urged.  If  there  be  any  one  profession  which  in  a 
preeminent  degree  requires  careful  and  extensive 
mental  training,  it  is  the  profession  of  law.  The 
intellectual  work  to  be  done  calls  for  the  highest 
attainments.  The  field  to  be  traversed  is  practically 
without  limit;  and  nowhere  else  do  we  find  such 
multiform  and  complex  relations  to  be  handled.  It 
is  lamentable  that  so  large  a  proportion  of  those  who 
commence  the  practice  of  law  achieve  very  indiffer- 
ent success.  This  may  be  accounted  for,  in  part,  by 
lack  of  natural  ability,  but  to  a  much  larger  extent 
by  inadequate  scholarship  and  untrained  mental 
powers.  Four  to  six  years  industriously  devoted  to 
the  mastery  of  studies  prescribed  in  our  best  colleges 
ought  to  generate  power  which  would  give  the  legal 
practitioner  a  decided  advantage  over  others  in  the 
profession. 

First.  Knowledge  would  be  gained  which  could 
be  directly  utilized — in  history,  political  science, 
constitutional  law,  international  law,  ethics,  physics, 
chemistry,  etc. 

Second.  There  would  be  the  training  of  the  in- 
tellectual faculties  by  their  vigorous  employment  in 
the  mastery  of  subjects  which  the  history  of  edu- 
cational movements  has  shown  to  be  disciplinary. 


The  Lawyer  117 

This  end  is  even  of  more  importance  than  the  for- 
mer. Power  of  close  attention ;  ability  to  prosecute 
work  for  an  indefinite  time  without  allowing  diver- 
sion; mental  grip,  which  is  a  concentration  of 
energy;  a  predisposition  to  grapple  problems  of 
thought ;  a  spirit  of  study  that  makes  it  a  delight — 
the  value  of  all  of  this  no  one  can  overestimate. 

Third.  Nothing  can  be  more  important  than 
eflfective  training  of  the  logical  powers.  This  is  a 
profession  in  which  preeminently  logic  must  be 
employed.  Is  the  person  arraigned  guilty,  or  not 
guilty  ?  The  answer  is  an  inference,  made  up,  it  may 
be,  from  a  score  of  subordinate  inferences.  What- 
ever subject  is  uhder  adjudication  the  legal  practi- 
tioner acts  upon  premises  from  which  conclusions 
are  reached.  With  reliable  premises,  if  his  reasoning 
be  correct,  the  inference  drawn  necessarily  follows; 
if  the  reasoning  be  illogical,  a  false  inference  is  de- 
duced. Adequate  facts  established,  followed  by  a 
skillful  weaving  of  them  into  an  argument,  and  the 
case  is  won;  but  with  a  rotten  link  in  the  chain,  cr 
some  necessary  link  left  out,  defeat  follows.  It  is 
said  of  one  of  the  most  eminent  lawyers  America 
has  ever  produced  that  he  was  accustomed  all  his 
life  to  begin  the  day  with  some  demonstration  in 
geometry,  to  awaken  into  action  and  train  his  logi- 
cal faculties. 

Fourth.  There  should  be  a  careful  study  of  the 
medium  of  thought.  To  convey  ideas  we  use  lan- 
guage; we  gain  ideas  through  language.     This  is 


ii8  Choosing  a  Lifework 

the  track  on  which  intelHgence  moves.  There  is  a 
profounder  truth  still :  we  think  by  means  of  lan- 
guage. Conceptions  are  implanted  in  words  and 
sentences,  the  two  are  interwoven  in  our  mental 
activities,  and  the  fuller  and  more  accurate  our  vo- 
cabulary the  deeper  and  more  accurate  our  thinking. 
The  lawyer,  then,  should  have  a  precise  and  exten- 
sive vocabulary,  that  the  intellectual  blows  wielded 
may  be  the  most  certain  and  effective.  Our  mother 
tongue  should  be  studied  in  its  structure  and  its 
origin,  studied  philologically,  with  the  greatest  care 
and  assiduity. 

Fifth.  In  his  college  course  he  who  anticipates 
entering  the  law  should  gain,  as  far  as  he  is  able,  the 
ability  to  speak  effectively.  Fluency  of  utterance 
is  desirable,  but  this  alone  does  not  make  the  orator. 
Socrates  tells  us  that  all  men  are  eloquent  in  that 
which  they  understand.  The  foundation  of  real 
eloquence  is  correct,  vivid,  and  comprehensive 
knowledge  clearly  formulated  in  the  mind,  and  stir- 
ring all  our  powers  into  action.  Empty  verbosity, 
though  attended  with  charming  figures  of  speech, 
will  not  produce  conviction,  and  is  but  short-lived. 
Gaining  the  power  to  think  with  precision  and  clear- 
ness, and  to  express  thought  in  harmony  with  its 
content,  you  have  acquired  that  which  is  by  far  the 
greater  part  of  eloquence.  But  there  is  effective- 
ness in  a  trained  voice  if  trained  to  be  natural,  so 
as  to  utter  most  impressively  or  truthfully  the  senti- 
ment which  the  intellect  conceives  or  the  heart  feels. 


The  Lawyer  119 

Elocutionary  drill,  which  corrects  faults  and  estab- 
lishes a  habit  of  right  modes  of  delivery,  especially 
if  carried  to  the  extent  that  the  orator  is  unconscious 
of  self  or  style  in  his  utterance,  being  able  to  give 
his  entire  thought  to  the  subject  under  discussion, 
develops  a  pov^er  well  worth  striving  after. 

The  law  is  a  great  battlefield.  It  is  the  only 
profession  in  which  opposing  forces  are  arrayed  in 
determined  and  relentless  strife.  No  one  disputes  the 
minister  as  he  delivers  his  message  from  the  pulpit. 
The  physician  does  not  contend  at  the  bedside  with 
other  practitioners.  The  teacher  is  supreme  in  the 
schoolroom;  his  movements  are  not  obstructed  by 
counterclaims  and  adverse  demands.  But  the  legal 
advocate  always  finds  some  one  present  to  dispute 
his  progress.  He  must  fight  his  way  from  the  be- 
ginning to  the  end  of  a  suit.  To  succeed  he  needs 
to  be  both  learned  and  quick-witted,  and  he  must 
exercise  the  closest  vigilance.  Now,  all  of  this  is 
in  the  interest  of  justice.  Wrong  does  not  prevail 
without  being  challenged. 

In  the  practice  of  law  the  most  favorable  con- 
ditions exist  for  the  growth  of  mental  energy.  A 
man  will  do  his  best  when  opposition  is  to  be  over- 
come. Defeat  is  humiliation.  In  the  trial  of  a 
case — surely  if  important — the  whole  inner  life  is 
aroused.  It  is  a  psychological  principle  that  the 
activity,  and  hence  the  achievement  made,  depends 
on  the  interest  felt ;  and,  aside  from  the  training  of 
the  attention  in  the  vigilance  required,  the  lawyer 


120  Choosing  a  Lifework 

gets  accustomed  to  the  making  of  the  sharpest  dis- 
tinctions, which  must  result  in  the  development  of 
mental  acumen.  In  the  case  of  earnest,  progressive 
lawyers  life  is  a  constant  mental  growth.  The 
struggles  at  the  bar  should  be  a  war  of  giants. 

It  is  not  strange  that  a  large  proportion  of  our 
leading  public  men  belong  to  this  profession.  They 
have  more  to  do  with  the  public  in  secular  affairs 
than  any  other  professional  class.  Frequently  they 
are  engaged  upon  cases  which,  from  the  amount  of 
money  involved  or  the  dark  character  of  the  alleged 
crime,  attract  the  attention  of  every  citizen.  Their 
own  reputations,  as  well  as  the  interests  at  stake, 
impel  them  to  put  forth  the  most  strenuous  efforts 
of  which  their  powers  are  capable.  To  win  is  fame; 
to  fail  there  is  perhaps  disgrace,  at  least  the  lowering 
of  personal  standing.  And  then  many  people  will 
praise  a  great  legal  argument  or  the  superb  handling 
of  an  important  case  in  court  as  they  will  not  an 
able  sermon  from  the  pulpit,  though  the  latter  may 
be  no  less  wonderful  than  the  former. 

Every  lawyer  should  thoroughly  understand  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State 
where  he  is  engaged  in  practice.  These  are  called 
the  organic  law,  the  law  of  statehood,  the  law  by 
which  the  government  is  constituted  and  has  its 
existence.  No  statute  in  conflict  therewith  is  valid. 
The  Constitution  enacted  by  the  people  defines  and 
limits  the  powers  of  the  Legislature,  which  is  but 
representative  of  the  people.  A  legislative  body  may 


The  Lawyer  121 

do  whatever  is  in  harmony  with  the  organic  law, 
but  nothing  which  violates  it  in  letter  or  spirit. 
As  the  people  in  ordaining  the  Constitution  are  sup- 
posed to  act  for  the  public,  but  cannot  enumerate  in 
detail  all  possible  rights  and  interests  whatever  con- 
ditions may  arise,  everything  that  is  prejudicial  to 
good  order  or  that  works  harm  to  the  people  may 
be  adjudged  invalid,  because  in  conflict  with  the 
end  for  which  the  Constitution  was  ordained. 
While,  therefore,  the  Constitution  is  written,  it  still 
contains  an  unwritten  factor;  there  must  be  a  read- 
ing between  the  lines.  The  most  eminent  position 
that  can  be  gained  is  that  of  being  a  great  constitu- 
tional lawyer.  Not  a  familiarity  with  the  statutes 
merely  is  needed,  but  the  understanding  of  the  phi- 
losophy of  law — its  groundwork  as  found  in  the 
Constitution  and  in  the  social  relations  we  sustain 
the  one  to  the  other.  There  is  in  this  that  to  which 
no  lawyer  should  be  a  stranger,  and  without  which 
he  should  not  expect  to  rise  to  a  very  high  plane  of 
legal  distinction  and  power. 

Many  lawyers  enter  political  life.  A  large  pro- 
portion of  the  members  of  Congress  have  been  taken 
from  this  profession.  It  would  seem  to  be  natural 
that  lawyers  should  be  chosen  to  be  lawmakers,  yet 
this  is  not  the  ground  of  their  selection,  but  rather 
it  is  because  of  the  leading  positions  they  hold  in 
the  community,  especially  as  public  speakers.  A 
lawyer  may  be  supposed  to  have  special  qualifica- 
tions for  framing  laws,  so  far  as  form  is  concerned, 


122  Choosing  a  Lifework 

and  for  deciding  many  questions  that  rise,  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  a  very  large  percentage  of  legal  enact- 
ments relate  to  business  interests  which  may  well 
claim  representation  in  the  legislative  body. 

If  a  lawyer  desires  to  make  politics  a  profession, 
abandoning  the  practice  of  law,  he  will  find  that  his 
legal  studies  will  be  of  service  to  him.  But  if  his 
ambition  is  to  make  a  success  as  a  legal  practitioner, 
he  should  keep  out  of  politics.  The  reader  should 
underscore  the  preceding  sentence.  Politics  breaks 
in  upon  the  continuity  of  legal  study  and  practice. 
It  severs  a  chain  that  should  not  be  broken  if  the 
largest  results  are  to  be  reasonably  expected.  No 
lawyer  is  big  enough  to  span  the  chasm  without  loss 
of  prestige  and  power.  A  few  men  on  leaving  Con- 
gress have  again  successfully  entered  the  law,  but 
the  number  is  not  large,  and  in  these  cases  loss  has 
been  unquestionably  sustained. 

May  a  lawyer  ever  withdraw  from  a  case  during 
its  prosecution,  abandoning  his  client?  Usually  he 
may  not  do  this ;  but  there  are  instances  in  which  it 
might  be  allowable,  perhaps  even  a  duty.  An  attor- 
ney is  entitled  to  an  honest  and  full  statement  of 
facts  from  the  person  he  is  asked  to  represent.  This 
he  needs  in  order  to  proceed  intelligently.  But  if 
he  has  been  grossly  deceived  by  the  declarations 
made  to  him,  and  if  the  character  of  his  client  is 
found  to  be  so  base  that  had  he  understood  it  he 
would  not  have  promised  his  services,  should  not  a 
sense  of  honor  lead  him  to  withdraw?.     There  are 


The  Lawyer  123 

individuals  whose  daily  life  outrages  decency,  weak- 
ens all  the  supports  of  government,  corrupts  the 
youth,  and  injects  into  society  the  miasma  of  moral 
death,  who  should  have  no  support  from  the  legal 
profession.  Has  a  lawyer  a  right  to  assist  any  man 
who  is  seeking  to  rob  the  public  or  to  defraud  his 
neighbor?  A  self-respecting  lawyer  will  not  co- 
operate with  anyone  for  such  an  unholy  purpose, 
and  if  by  any  means  he  has  been  entrapped  to  under- 
take a  case  like  this,  he  should  give  notice  of  with- 
drawal. 

The  foregoing  is  quite  in  harmony  with  the  advice 
given  to  law  students  by  the  distinguished  Michigan 
jurist,  Judge  Cooley,  from  whom  we  have  already 
quoted.  He  says :  "In  all  his  studies  the  law  student 
must  not  forget  that  he  is  fitting  himself  to  be  a  min- 
ister of  justice ;  that  he  owes  it  to  himself,  to  those 
who  shall  be  his  clients,  to  the  courts  he  shall  practice 
in,  and  to  society  at  large,  that  he  cultivate  care- 
fully his  moral  nature  to  fit  it  for  the  high  and 
responsible  trust  he  is  to  assume/'  It  is  to  be  feared 
that  this  exhortation  is  not  always  regarded.  Ethics 
should  have  a  place  in  the  practice  of  law.  Indeed, 
laws  that  are  not  ethical  have  no  right  to  exist.  To 
secure  and  protect  rights  is  the  very  purpose  for 
which  law  is  ordained.  An  unscrupulous  lawyer  is 
false  to  the  object  for  which  the  profession  is  in- 
stituted, and  is  out  of  place  as  an  advocate  at  the 
bar  of  justice. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  there  is  moral 


124  Choosing  a  Lifework 

obliquity  in  instigating  litigation.  There  is  a  class 
of  impecunious  lawyers  who  resort  to  this  in  the 
hope  of  getting  a  livelihood.  The  state  creates  the 
profession  to  adjust  disputes,  not  to  promote  them. 
Courts  are  established,  judges  selected,  men  admit- 
ted to  practice,  that  order  and  justice  may  prevail. 
But  in  a  multitude  of  instances  differences  arise 
which  can  and  ought  to  be  settled  out  of  court.  It 
is  not  the  theory  giving  rise  to  the  machinery  of 
the  law  that  the  courts  should  be  appealed  to  on 
every  slight  provocation.  And  certainly  to  in- 
tensify the  hostility  of  citizens  one  to  the  other  by 
a  legal  trial — when  this  can  be  avoided — adding 
greatly  to  the  expense  as  well  as  to  the  bitterness 
of  feeling,  is  a  crime  against  humanity.  A  man 
who  has  the  ability  to  succeed  as  a  lawyer — and  no 
one  else  should  enter  the  profession — does  not  need 
to  stir  up  strife.  Legal  advice  should  be  paid  for, 
and  this  is  a  lighter  burden  to  the  parties  than  the 
cost  of  a  suit. 

It  is  well  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that 
there  is  much  of  uncertainty  in  the  administration  of 
law  in  courts  of  justice.  Many  disputes  are  of 
such  an  involved  nature  that  the  right  is  not  clearly 
apparent.  The  practice — and  perhaps  the  need — 
of  excluding  from  the  jury  persons  who  have  formed 
an  opinion  in  regard  to  the  merits  of  a  case  in  issue 
results  often  in  securing,  as  a  panel,  men  who  are 
below  the  average  in  mental  capacity.  Not  unfre- 
quently  is  it  very  difficult  to  apply  a  statute  or  prin- 


The  Lawyer  125 

ciple  of  law  to  the  interests  which  are  at  stake.  Also 
it  is  true  that  the  most  learned  judges  may  differ  in 
opinion  as  to  the  interpretation  of  law  and  its  con- 
stitutionality. Still  further,  the  testimony  may  be 
inadequate,  the  witnesses  failing  to  meet  your  ex- 
pectations. And  even  in  cases  of  appeal  to  a  higher 
court  decisions  may  be  affirmed  or  reversed  not  on 
the  clear  merits  of  the  case,  but  depending  on  the 
points  of  view  from  which  the  different  jurists  con- 
sider the  subject  involved,  or  from  the  personal 
mental  habits  or  predisposition  of  the  judges.  This 
is  evident  when  the  decisions  rendered  are  not 
unanimous,  but  are  made  only  by  majorities.  A 
court  has  been  known  to  reverse  its  own  decisions, 
especially  when  the  personnel  of  the  court  has  under- 
gone a  change.  Should  all  judges  be  equally 
learned,  they  may  not  agree.  You  may  thus  be 
made  to  feel  disappointment  and  chagrin  at  the 
result  of  your  best  efforts  before  the  court.  You 
may  display  distinguished  talents  and  great  learning, 
and  yet  lose  the  case  you  had  confidently  expected  to 
win;  not  losing  it  from  its  weakness,  nor  because 
of  any  fault  of  yours,  but  from  the  personnel  of  the 
tribunal  before  which  it  is  tried. 

If  the  law  be  a  learned  profession;  if  it  include 
many  of  our  most  distinguished  public  men;  if  it 
afford  a  practical  opportunity  for  the  development  of 
mental  powers;  if  our  courts  of  justice  be  a  necessity 
for  the  good  order  of  society,  as  all  will  admit,  then 
surely  this  is  a  profession  that  is  both  honorable  and 


126  Choosing  a  Lifework 

useful.  If  the  men  who  practice  in  the  courts  are  per- 
sons of  moral  integrity,  realizing  that  they  are  set  for 
the  defense  of  right,  resisting  the  temptations  that 
arise  to  achieve  personal  triumphs  at  the  sacrifice  of 
public  good,  gifted  young  men  may  well  look  upon 
the  law  as  holding  out  special  inducements  which 
properly  may  be  allowed  to  influence  them  in  their 
choice  of  a  lifework. 


Wielding  the  Press  127 


CHAPTER  X 

Wielding  the  Press 

When  the  art  of  printing  was  discovered  the 
Dark  Ages  hastened  to  a  close.  It  contained  within 
itself  the  seed  germs  of  civilization,  so  that  the 
world  began  to  move  rapidly  upward  to  a  higher 
plane.  Thought  shrivels  and  dies  when  denied  ex- 
pression. It  was  more  than  a  coincidence  that  the 
inauguration  of  printing,  the  discovery  of  America, 
and  the  moral  throes  of  the  Lutheran  Reformation 
were  making  history  at  the  same  hour.  Great 
events  must  have  great  opportunities,  and  the  print- 
ing press  has  been,  and  is,  an  arm  of  mightiest 
power. 

No  other  invention  has  been  made,  during  the  flight 
of  all  the  ages,  so  potent  and  far-reaching  as  this. 
Simple  as  a  device,  we  are  surprised  it  had  not  been 
thought  of  at  an  earlier  day ;  but  because  of  its  sim- 
plicity it  is  easily  adapted  to  the  highest  demands 
of  human  intelligence.  Thus  is  solved  the  greatest 
of  all  problems,  the  inauguration  of  means  for  the 
fullest  and  broadest  development  of  man's  intel- 
lectual powers.  In  this  problem  were  certain 
important  factors ;  to  secure  the  widening  of  human 
intercourse,  the  dissemination  of  thought,  the  preser- 
vation of  the  intellectual  treasures  of  succeeding 
generations,  the  awakening  of  the  mind  to  accom- 


128  Choosing  a  Lifework 

plish  the  greatest  achievements.  Nothing  manifests 
man's  superiority  over  the  brute  world  more  than 
the  language  he  employs — language  holding  intel- 
lectual conceptions,  communicating  thought,  the  very 
channel  along  which  ideas  travel  and  without  which 
they  would  not  exist.  Previous  to  the  appearance 
of  printing  there  was  spoken  and  written  language, 
but  it  failed  to  be  a  great  world-power  to  easily  pene- 
trate all  lands  so  as  to  stir  the  life  of  nations  by 
making  its  way  to  all  firesides.  To-day  an  item  of 
intelligence,  the  record  of  a  fact,  a  truth  conceived 
by  the  mind,  in  one  brief  hour  is  multiplied  many 
thousands  of  times,  and  is  on  its  way  to  millions  of 
homes.  No  one  will  dispute  that  the  art  of  printing 
holds  within  its  grasp  more  of  the  forces  of  civili- 
zation than  any  other  agency  of  human  power. 

Solomon  in  his  time  said,  ^'Of  making  many 
books  there  is  no  end,"  and  it  was  then  almost  an 
endless  task  to  prepare  a  single  copy.  At  the  present 
day  copies  are  struck  off  by  the  tens  of  thousands 
in  an  almost  incredibly  short  period  of  time.  Who 
can  compute  the  number  of  books  in  our  public  and 
private  libraries?  All  that  has  not  gone  down  into 
absolute  oblivion  is,  through  printing,  preserved  in 
these  tomes.  Magazines  are  now  occupying  a  very 
important  place  in  the  world  of  letters.  Much  of 
our  best  literature  reaches  the  public  through  this 
agency.  The  weekly  and  daily  papers  perfectly 
flood  all  these  lands. 

A  glance  over  the  field  will  show  our  dependence 


Wielding  the  Press  129 

on  the  press.  The  government,  national  and  State, 
puts  all  its  proceedings  in  print.  We  thus  have  set 
before  us  the  laws  enacted  and  the  proceedings 
leading  to  the  passage  or  rejection  of  bills  presented. 
Political  parties  use  the  press  with  wonderful  ear- 
nestness and  zeal.  In  this  they  have  their  greatest 
leverage  with  the  people.  Public  speeches  are  oc- 
casionally delivered,  but  these  occur  only  at  distant 
intervals  of  time,  while  the  newspaper  visits  the  fire- 
side every  week,  and  usually  every  day.  For  good 
or  evil  political  publications  are  shaping  the 
destiny  of  the  country — for  good  generally, 
we  believe;  for  in  the  end  people  are  led 
to  think,  and  truth  finally  gains  the  throne 
of  power.  Must  we  accept  the  characterization  of 
Lowell — "Truth  forever  on  the  scaffold,  wrong  for- 
ever on  the  throne?''  We  take  exception  to  the  word 
^'forever,"  for  it  leaves  no  room  for  God  to  work, 
and  makes  man  a  moral  wreck.  Rather,  as  Bovee 
phrases  it,  'Truth,  like  the  sun,  submits  to  be  ob- 
scured, but,  like  the  sun,  only  for  a  time.'' 

The  Church  would  almost  as  soon  discard  the 
pulpit  and  tear  down  its  public  ialtars  as  to  give  up 
the  press.  If  it  cannot  control  the  reading  of  the 
people,  inspiring  their  thoughts  and  molding  the 
literature  which  finds  its  way  to  their  homes,  its  arm 
of  power  will  be  greatly  shortened.  It  is  the  fond 
dream  of  the  intelligent  and  devoted  minister  and 
layman  that  some  religious  paper  shall  find  its  way 
each  week,  at  least,  to  every  household.     Hence  mil- 


130  Choosing  a  Lif^work 

lions  of  dollars  of  capital  are  invested  in  our  pub- 
lishing houses.  The  first  publication  which  Guten- 
berg, the  inventor  of  printing  by  movable  types, 
gave  to  the  world  was  the  Bible.  And  to  how  small 
an  extent  could  the  demand  for  the  Bible  be  met 
without  the  printing  press ! 

And  without  the  press  how  much  less  efficient 
would  be  our  schools,  colleges,  and  universities! 
Pupils  must  have  text-books.  In  the  higher  branches 
of  study  not  less  than  in  the  lower  is  this  a  necessity. 
While  the  child  must  have  the  reader  and  the  arith- 
metic, to  the  student  in  history,  in  literature,  in  the 
languages,  and,  indeed,  in  every  other  department 
of  research,  there  must  be  constant  access  to  the 
text  that  can  be  supplied  only  by  the  printed  page. 
While  in  science  we  make  our  final  appeal  directly 
to  nature,  no  one  can  dispense  with  the  helps  which 
scientific  men  can  supply.  The  college  student  can- 
not travel  all  over  the  earth  to  examine  every  form 
of  strata,  to  take  observations  at  each  eclipse  of  the 
sun  or  moon,  or  dig  up  rare  minerals  wherever 
nature  has  deposited  them.  He  must  accept  the  re- 
ports as  they  appear  in  books,  magazines,  and  scien- 
tific journals. 

The  judgment  of  the  people  in  regard  to  the  in- 
fluence of  the  press  appears  in  the  importance  they 
attach  to  that  which  is  personal  in  its  utterances. 
Some  depreciating  remark  made  on  the  street  will 
cause  but  little  concern,  but  a  sharp  criticism 
printed  in  the  daily  paper  is  a  grievous  affliction. 


Wielding  the  Press  131 

Words  of  commendation  found  on  the  printed  page 
give  tenfold  more  of  gratification  than  if  simply 
dropped  from  the  lips.  Courts  of  justice  make  a 
distinction  no  less  marked.  Libel — a  malicious  pub- 
lication— "constitutes  both  a  criminal  offense  and  a 
civil  injury,  and  is  therefore  punishable  both  by  in- 
dictment and  by  civil  action  for  damages.  Slander, 
on  the  other  hand,  is  only  a  civil  wrong,  a  violation 
of  private  rights,  and  is  never  indictable,  the  only 
available  mode  of  redress  being  a  private  action. 
All  actionable  libels  are  indictable." 

But  we  need  not  bring  further  illustrations  to 
the  mind  of  the  reader.  They  will  be  readily  sug- 
gested in  all  the  movements  of  society.  He  who 
turns  to  the  press  may  find  food  for  the  intellect, 
and  much  that,  in  the  happiness  and  sorrow  of  the 
world,  is  calculated  to  stir  the  feelings  to  their  very 
depths.  He  is  brought  into  relations  with  all  lands, 
and  hears  the  throbbings  of  the  heart  of  all  the  ages 
of  the  past  and  the  tramp  of  all  the  nations  of  to- 
day. And  he  who  can  effectively  wield  the  press  can 
shape  human  destiny  and  put  his  life  into  the  great 
current  of  forces  which  will  never  cease  to  flow  to 
the  end  of  time.  Beyond  all  comparison  wonderful 
in  its  power  is  the  press. 

The  press  has  vital  relations  with  free  popular 
government.  Under  the  reign  of  despotism  the  press 
is  muzzled;  that  the  people  may  rule  intelligence 
must  be  unrestrained.  The  sovereign  must  not  be 
kept  in  ignorance,  and  with  us,  the  people  are  sover- 


132  Choosing  a  Lifework 

eign.  During  the  days  of  slavery  in  the  South  there 
was  enforced  ilHteracy  of  the  colored  man.  This 
was  prudential  foresight,  for  the  slave  must  not  have 
access  to  the  sources  of  power  within  reach  of  the 
master.  Despotic  rulers  dare  not  allow  the  exist- 
ence of  an  untrammeled  press.  The  free  discussion 
of  human  rights  would  imdermine  every  throne  of 
irresponsible  power.  Just  to  the  extent  the  press 
bears  sway  will  liberty  unfold  her  wings  and  the 
citizen  wield  the  scepter  of  government.  Republics 
can  exist  only  as  the  people  are  intelligent ;  as  there 
is  the  fullest  provision  for  the  interchange  of  ideas 
and  for  coordinate  action.  Civil  freedom  joins 
hands  with  the  press,  and  out  from  the  struggles  of 
humanity  with  the  chains  that  have  bound  the  souls 
of  men  in  all  the  past  will  yet  come  forth  the  uni- 
versal reign  of  personal  and  political  rights. 

Rome,  which  had  inherited  much  of  the  learning 
of  Greece,  finally  fell  before  the  savage  hordes  which 
poured  down  upon  her  from  the  north,  and  the  night 
of  the  Dark  Ages  soon  enveloped  the  world.  The 
manhood  of  the  Goths  in  their  vandalism  was  virile, 
but  luxury  had  weakened  every  fiber  of  the  once 
proud  people  which  had  for  more  than  eleven  cen- 
turies swayed  the  scepter  from  the  seven  hills  on  the 
Tiber.  May  not  the  Dark  Ages  again  visit  the 
nations  of  the  earth?  Nothing  is  more  remarkable 
than  the  superiority  of  civilized  lands  over  those 
that  are  uncivilized.  This  superiority  appears  in  all 
the  enginery  of  power — for  war  and  for  peace:  in 


Wielding  the  Press  133 

the  general  accumulation  of  capital;  in  military 
equipments,  offensive  and  defensive;  in  the  applian- 
ces for  national  industry ;  in  the  average  intelligence 
of  the  people;  in  the  moral  qualities  which  make 
vigorous  manhood.  Underneath  all  of  this  is  the 
general  activity  of  mind  as  mind,  receiving  its  stimu- 
lus and  steady  development  through  the  constant 
dissemination  of  ideas  by  means  of  the  press,  and 
the  intercommunication  of  the  people  through  the 
medium  of  commerce  and  travel.  This  has  not  all 
been  wrought  out  by  the  printing-press,  but  without 
it  these  lands  would  for  a  long  time  have  been  dwell- 
ing in  darkness  more  or  less  intense.  Modern  civil- 
ization can  never  be  overthrown;  it  will  gradually 
become  stronger  and  more  beneficent. 

It  would  be  folly  to  claim  everything  for  the  press. 
The  orator  has  many  advantages  over  the  writer. 
As  he  stands  before  an  audience  he  can  impress  the 
people  from  personal  qualities  which  cannot  be  put 
on  the  printed  page.  His  bodily  presence,  the  flash 
of  the  eye,  the  tone  of  voice,  the  working  of  the 
features  of  the  face,  the  gestures  which  the  heart 
prompts,  the  whole  attitude  of  the  physical  and  men- 
tal being  in  their  moral  touch  with  a  listening  audi- 
ence, bring  the  speaker  nearer  to  us,  and  should  give 
more  weight  to  his  words  than  cold,  impassive  type 
can  possibly  bear  in  upon  the  intelligence.  But  the 
principle  here  enunciated  is  not  of  universal  ap- 
plication. All  public  speakers  are  not  faultless  in 
their    address.     Not    uncommonly    a    well-written 


134  Choosing  a  Lifework 

oration  is  murdered  in  the  delivery.  The  reader 
would  get  more  from  it  than  the  listener.  This 
must  be  considered  aside  from  the  fact  that  the 
orator  reaches  only  those  who  are  within  the  sound 
of  his  voice  during  the  single  hour  in  which  he 
speaks  to  his  audience,  while  the  printed  page  is 
accessible  an  indefinite  number  of  times,  and  may  be 
a  living  force  through  many  succeeding  generations. 
Many  young  men  and  women  are  seriously  con- 
sidering the  advisability  of  choosing  journalism  as 
a  profession.  There  are  several  considerations 
which  should  be  carefully  weighed.  In  most  in- 
stances they  must  begin  at  the  lowest  round  of  the 
ladder.  The  business  of  a  reporter  is  important, 
but  not  always  agreeable.  Hunting  up  news,  some- 
times under  circumstances  which  produce  the  im- 
pression of  impertinence;  doing  much  of  the  work 
in  a  hurry;  often  mingling  with  classes  one  does  not 
like  to  associate  with ;  toiling  at  unseasonable  hours ; 
finding  one's  self  tempted  to  exaggerate  in  order 
to  attract  readers ;  frequently  being  expected  to  dis- 
cuss or  properly  characterize  subjects  of  which  there 
is  the  most  meager  knowledge — there  is  but  little 
satisfaction  in  such  employment.  And  it  is  not 
everyone  whose  eyes  are  open  to  see  all  that  the 
publishers  of  a  paper  desire  to  give  to  the  public. 
Still  further,  the  people  demand  that  which  is  racy. 
Logic  will  not  answer,  and  facts  must  be  portrayed 
in  an  attractive  or  sensational  style.  The  imagi- 
nation must  do  some  coloring,  or  the  reporter  may 


Wielding  the  Press  135 

be  voted  a  failure.  And  starting  without  skill, 
he  must  rapidly  gain  it,  or  lose  his  place.  In  the 
meantime  he  receives  but  meager  remuneration. 

Reaching  the  editorship,  what  then?  Not  usually 
a  large  salary,  except  on  the  great  metropolitan 
journals.  The  number  is  relatively  small  of  those 
who  get  into  this  class.  Upon  the  whole,  journal- 
ism is  not  a  lucrative  profession.  Country  papers, 
if  they  survive  adverse  conditions,  accumulate 
property  but  slowly.  A  few,  very  few,  make  large 
fortunes. 

There  is  much  adverse  criticism  on  the  contents 
of  most  of  our  secular  papers.  The  statement  is 
made  that  different  subjects  are  not  treated  in  pro- 
portion to  their  real  merits.  The  question  is  asked. 
Why  give  so  much  space  to  football,  to  baseball; 
and  why  give  any  space  at  all  to  police  courts,  to 
slugging  matches,  to  prize  fights,  and  other  demoral- 
izing events?  The  press  ought  to  educate  the 
people  up  to  that  which  is  morally  healthful  and 
economically  profitable,  it  is  said. 

But  can  anyone  afford  to  publish  an  ideal  paper? 
A  newspaper  is  an  industry  out  of  which  a  livelihood 
is  to  be  gained.  It  is  instituted  for  the  money  sup- 
posed to  be  in  it.  On  one  side  it  is  a  problem  of 
demand  and  supply.  A  publisher,  like  a  merchant, 
asks.  What  does  the  public  want  ?  And  on  economic 
principles  he  seeks  to  supply  what  is  called  for.  Con- 
sidered purely  as  a  business  project,  the  plan  is  a  wise 
one.     If  the  demands  of  the  public  are  not  met. 


13^  Choosing  a  Lifework 

the  enterprise  is  sure  to  be  a  failure.  These  facts 
are  taken  into  account,  so  that,  unfortunately,  prize 
fights  are  given  more  space  than  religious  conven- 
tions. Yet  the  public  are  not  wholly  without  con- 
science in  the  matter.  Some  papers  are  so  sensa- 
tional in  their  character,  catering,  to  so  large  an 
extent,  to  the  baser  classes,  to  the  prurient  elements 
of  society,  that  they  are  excluded,  as  morally  degrad- 
ing, from  many  firesides.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
the  day  will  come  when  journalists  will  realize  the 
responsibility  of  using  the  power  wielded  to  build 
up  that  which  is  best  in  human  society,  rather  than 
to  report  for  greedy  eyes  whatever  is  base  and  de- 
moralizing for  the  sake  of  the  money  there  is  in  it. 
Religious  Journalism  does  not  encounter  the  al- 
ternative of  more  money  and  less  morals,  on  the 
one  side,  or  less  money  and  more  morals,  on  the 
other.  The  more  intelligently  and  completely  it 
conserves  the  highest  moral  purposes  and  ends  the 
wider  its  patronage.  It  does  not  lose  sight  of  the 
law  of  demand  and  supply,  but  it  operates  in  a 
sphere  where  there  is  practically  no  call  for  that 
which  is  low  and  degrading.  Yet  here  ability  is 
not  the  only  requisite;  that  which  is  printed  must 
be  racy  as  well  as  strong  and  learned.  Indeed,  the 
young  are  being  educated,  by  devouring  so  much  of 
light  literature,  into  a  distaste  for  that  which  is 
sober  and  thoughtful.  It  is  just  at  this  point  that 
the  difficulty  arises  in  conducting  a  religious  paper. 
How  much  space  relatively  shall  be  given  to  that 


Wielding  the  Press  137 

which  is  light  and  that  which  is  more  substantial? 
But  it  must  not  be  inferred  that  the  dry  is  therefore 
deep.  Its  lack  of  power  to  interest  may  be  because 
it  is  muddy,  not  because  it  is  profound.  We  do 
not  see  the  bottom,  not  because  it  is  so  far  away, 
but  because  the  author  was  floundering  in  a  bog. 
Thoughts  clearly  expressed  go  very  far  toward 
making  the  style  attractive.  Accurate,  vivid  think- 
ing is  essential  to  entertaining  composition.  Ideas, 
rather  than  figures  of  speech,  will  win  in  the  end. 

There  is  getting  to  be  a  great  rush  for  authorship. 
It  is  a  laudable  ambition  to  put  in  permanent  form 
that  which  is  worthy  of  being  preserved.  Yet  it  is 
not  easy  to  get  readers  unless  there  is  something  at- 
tractive in  the  subject  treated  or  in  the  style  of  com- 
position. There  is  a  craze  for  the  writing  of  poetry. 
The  most  of  what  is  called  poetic  efifusions  is  the 
merest  trash.  There  must  be  both  thought  and 
imagery.  Poetry  is  thought  idealized  by  the  im- 
agination; its  merit  depends  on  the  ideas  expressed 
and  the  mode  of  expressing  or  manner  of  clothing 
these  ideas.  It  should  manifest  the  highest  grade 
of  intelligence  and  appear  in  the  most  charming 
garb.  Wordsworth  speaks  of  poetry  as  "the  breath 
and  finer  spirit  of  all  knowledge,  the  impassioned 
expression  which  is  the  countenance  of  all  science." 
Chapin  tells  us  that  it  "is  the  utterance  of  truth — 
deep,  heartfelt  truth.''  He  says,  "The  true  poet  is 
very  near  the  oracle."  Lamartine  calls  it  "the 
morning    dream    of   great   minds."     Lowell    says, 


138  Choosing  a  Lifework 

*Toetry  is  something  to  make  us  wiser  and  better 
by  continually  revealing  those  types  of  beauty  and 
truth  which  God  has  set  in  all  men's  souls."  In 
form  poetry  is  metrical,  but  rhyming  alone  does  not 
constitute  its  life.  Jingling  verse,  destitute  both  of 
ideas  and  appropriate  imagery,  has  been  palmed  off 
unlimited  on  a  long-suffering  public.  Do  not  print 
rhymes  unless  you  know  them  to  be  genuine  poetry. 
If  it  be  your  purpose  to  resort  to  authorship,  it 
is  usually  prudent  not  to  engage  in  bookmaking 
much  before  you  reach  middle  life.  If  the  subjects 
selected  be  didactic,  and  especially  if  they  involve 
deep  problems,  it  is  often  not  well  to  put  yourself 
on  record  until  after  the  most  careful  and  pains- 
taking thought.  Horace  exhorts  us  to  keep  our 
literary  compositions  from  the  public  eye  for  nine 
years  at  least.  Though  Americans  cannot  wait  so 
long  as  this,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  the  views  of 
early  manhood  will  not  unfrequently  be  abandoned 
or  greatly  modified  as  the  result  of  deeper  study  in 
later  years.  To  rush  into  print  while  yet  the  mind 
is  immature  and  scholarship  is  superficial  may  open 
the  way  for  many  regrets,  even  before  gray  hairs 
shall  adorn  your  brow.  Do  nothing  hastily;  if 
what  you  write  shall  become  immortal,  its  roots  must 
strike  down  to  the  deepest  subsoil  of  truth.  Let 
fame  be  late  in  coming  rather  than  be  a  fitful  breeze 
that  only  fans  the  soul  for  a  brief  hour.  The  chap- 
lets  of  youth  are  liable  to  fade  ere  wisdom  mounts 
to  the  throne  of  power. 


Wielding  the  Press  139 

Perhaps  the  foregoing  would  hardly  be  sound 
advice  when  we  turn  to  the  world  of  light  literature. 
While  the  judgment  may  ripen  as  the  years  add 
their  stores  of  experience,  imagination  does  not 
plume  her  wings  in  the  rays  which  come  from  the 
western  sky.  She  is  inspired  by  the  sunrise,  not 
by  the  sunset. 

'  The  novel  is  a  work  of  f ancy^  or  the  imagination. 
We  must  not  be  understood  as  saying  that  thought 
is  discarded,  unless  this  term  be  restricted  to  the 
relations  of  subjects  which  are  real.  The  novelist 
is  a  builder,  and  in  the  structure  he  rears  there  must 
be  building  material  and  adaptation  in  the  adjust- 
ment of  parts.  There  must  be  proportionality  in  a 
world  of  fiction  not  less  than  in  a  world  of  facts. 
The  novel  has  its  mathematics,  but  its  merits  depend 
largely  on  its  architecture  and  style  of  finish.  Its 
purpose  is  to  entertain,  and  to  reach  this  end  it  must 
appeal  to  the  sensibilities.  Its  themes  are  concrete, 
not  abstract  principles  which  belong  to  the  domain 
of  philosophy.  Like  unto  the  fine  arts,  it  is  pictorial, 
a  word-painting,  and,  so  far  as  there  is  argument, 
it  is  subordinate  to  and  dependent  on  the  delinea- 
tions supplied. 

There  is  an  almost  unlimited  call  for  light  litera- 
ture. The  books  drawn  from  public  libraries  belong 
principally  to  this  class.  Most  people  do  not  read 
for  instruction,  but  for  entertainment.  Hence  there 
IS  here  a  popular  field  for  authorship.  No  one  will 
think  of  writing  a  book  unless  there  be  good  pros- 


I40  Choosing  a  Lifework 

pect  of  getting  readers;  and  if  you  can  touch  the 
pubHc  heart,  stir  the  emotions  of  the  people,  your 
productions  will  find  sale.  Of  course  the  supply  on 
the  market  is  always  large,  but  the  demand  is  equally 
extensive  if  the  books  are  enjoyable. 

Some  novelists  have  made  large  fortunes,  but  in 
this,  as  in  everything  else,  marked  success  is  re- 
stricted to  comparatively  few  individuals.  There 
are  some  who,  because  of  a  rich  vein  of  wit,  of 
charming  fancy  or  exuberant  imagination,  have 
written  what  all  men  and  ages  desire;  but  in  most 
cases  the  flash  is  only  for  the  hour;  delight  soon 
pales  and  disappears.  Not  many  writers  of  fiction 
will  have  a  very  glowing  immortality. 

It  is  thus  evident  that  the  press  afifords  a  great 
field  for  the  employment  of  talent.  Not  usually  does 
it  open  the  way  to  large  fortunes,  but,  like  every-^ 
thing  else  that  possesses  power,  it  may  bless  or 
curse  society.  Much  of  that  which  is  best  in  our 
civilization  has  been  wrought  out  by  the  press,  and 
the  baser  workings  of  society  have  also  been  stimu- 
lated by  the  vile  publications  that  have  poisoned  the 
minds  of  so  many  of  the  youth.  The  Church  could 
not  dispense  with  the  printing  press,  and  to  it  all 
the  forces  of  life  turn  that  power  may  be  wielded 
with  the  greatest  effect.  Ambitious  young  men  and 
women,  gifted  beyond  the  average  of  those  who 
wield  the  pen,  will  make  no  mistake  in  turning  to 
journalism  or  authorship.  With  them  the  sole  ques- 
tion should  be  in  what  department  of  this  wide  do- 


Wielding  the  Press  141 

main  the  most  useful  and  effective  work  can  be  done. 
To  do  great  things  you  must  become  great,  and  to 
become  great  in  your  own  Hfe  that  Hfe  must  be  lost 
in  the  lives  of  others.  Phillips  Brooks  has  said  that 
**no  man  has  come  to  true  greatness  who  has  not  felt 
that  in  some  degree  his  life  belongs  to  his  race,  and 
that  what  God  gives  him  he  gives  him  for  mankind." 
He  is  false  to  society  who  prints  a  single  page  that  is 
not  fitted  to  help  some  mortal  struggling  against  ig- 
norance or  wrong,  some  one  who  is  battling  the 
adverse  currents  which  have  set  in  against  his  life. 
Write,  but  let  it  be  for  righteousness,  for  truth,  for 
humanity. 


142  Choosing  a  Lifework 


CHAPTER  XI 
Politics  as  a  Vocation 

The  average  American  boy  by  the  time  his  public 
school  studies  are  finished  has  gained  a  fairly  good, 
though  not  a  very  comprehensive,  knowledge  of  the 
institutions  of  his  country.  He  comes  to  his  ma- 
jority clothed  with  grave  responsibilities.  He  has 
become  a  sovereign  voter,  having  a  voice  in  the 
councils  of  the  nation. 

The  interests  which  occupy  the  field  of  political 
thought  and  call  for  action  are  of  very  great  impor- 
tance. To  make  this  earth  habitable  civil  govern- 
ments must  be  organized  and  maintained.  Ques- 
tions must  be  solved  which  have  to  do  with  the 
happiness  and  well-being  of  every  individual.  The 
relations  involved  are,  many  of  them,  exceedingly 
complex  and  not  easily  adjusted.  They  demand  the 
most  careful  and  profound  study.  And  while  every 
ordinarily  intelligent  young  man,  from  his  residence 
in  the  country,  is  sure  to  have  much  valuable  knowl- 
edge of  existing  institutions,  there  are  many  deep 
problems  which  cannot  readily  be  fathomed,  the 
solution  of  which  is  essential  for  the  guidance  of 
public  affairs.  It  is  not  creditable  to  any  American 
citizen  to  put  a  low  estimate  on  political  rights  or 
privileges.  Over  against  rights  are  duties,  and 
obligations    are    measured    by    the    privileges    we 


Politics  as  a  Vocation  143 

enjoy.  It  was  the  serious  concern  of  our 
forefathers  to  formulate  fundamental  principles  of 
government  which,  in  their  breadth  and  equitable 
bearing  on  all  the  people,  would  be  a  support  for 
legislation  that  guaranteed  liberty — which  is  not 
license — the  widest  reach  of  the  activity  of  the  indi- 
vidual without  impairing  his  relations  to  the  public 
as  a  complex  unit.  Natural  rights  are  more  than 
individual;  they  are  social  as  well.  These  last  add 
to  the  sum  of  rights  which  the  isolated  person  could 
not  possess  or  execute.  The  social  both  creates  and 
modifies  individual  rights.  Man  in  society  is  vastly 
more  than  man  in  a  state  of  absolute  isolation.  He 
has  more  to  do  and  to  enjoy.  When  alone,  prac- 
tically he  has  no  rights;  in  association  with  others 
there  is  a  munificence  of  good  within  his  reach. 

The  student  of  political  science  finds  some  of  the 
deepest  problems  of  thought  constantly  inviting 
his  attention.  At  the  outset  we  as  a  people  estab- 
lished a  republican  form  of  government.  The  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  is  a  wonderful  docu- 
ment, especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  our  civil- 
ization is  Anglo-Saxon,  the  outgrowth  of  the  life 
of  the  English  people.  Our  Constitution  is  written, 
the  departments  and  powers  of  the  government  are 
explicitly  stated;  while  the  English  Constitution  is 
unwritten,  the  growth  of  centuries  of  legislation  and 
judicial  decisions.  We  have  an  elective  President, 
England  an  hereditary  monarch.  We  have  no  titled 
aristocracy;  the  English  government  recognizes  an 


144  Choosing  a  Lifework 

aristocracy  as  fundamental  to  her  political  existence 
in  her  kingship  and  House  of  Lords.  Taking  into 
account  the  antecedence  of  our  national  life,  it  may 
well  surprise  us  that  our  form  of  government  is  so 
widely  diverse  from  that  of  the  mother  country. 

A  very  perplexing  question  confronted  us  at  the 
time  our  Constitution  was  framed.  We  had  for 
several  years  existed  as  a  confederacy  of  States, 
which  States  were  wholly  independent  of  each  other. 
The  nation  was  simply  a  league  of  States.  The 
central  government  could  make  a  requisition  for 
men  and  money,  but  it  could  not  enforce  its  de- 
mands. Indeed,  all  important  legislation  must  re- 
ceive the  assent  of  at  least  nine  of  the  States  to  be 
binding.  To  give  efficiency  to  the  general  govern- 
ment, and  at  the  same  time  preserve  the  autonomy 
of  the  States — which  should  not  be  surrendered — 
was  a  very  delicate  and  perplexing  question.  To 
be  a  United  States  and  not  simply  States  united; 
to  make  the  general  government  supreme  over  all 
the  people  in  any  and  all  of  the  States,  yet  reserving 
for  the  States  distinct  and  explicit  powers  sufficient 
for  the  maintenance  of  efficient  statehood,  was  the 
work  sought  to  be  accomplished,  and  which  was 
arranged  with  wonderful  skill.  The  outcome  was 
not  for  most  purposes  a  union  of  States,  but  a  union 
of  the  people  of  the  States.  Hence  our  Constitution 
begins  with  these  words:  "We,  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  ...  do  ordain  and  establish  this 
Constitution." 


Politics  as  a  Vocation  145 

The  field  of  politics  embraces  the  entire  domain 
of  material  interests,  has  much  to  do  with  educa- 
tional privileges,  and  has  a  direct  bearing  on  all 
religious  institutions.  There  are  what  are  called 
''rights  of  persons,''  including  privileges,  legitimate 
employments,  and  protection  from  personal  injury. 
There  are  ''rights  of  things,''  embracing  all  that 
comes  under  the  head  of  property.  And  in  connec-» 
tion  with  these  there  are  social  relations  and  inter- 
ests which  necessarily  enter  into  all  the  problems  of 
rights  of  persons  and  things.  Not  only  has  the 
government  a  right  to  establish  school  systems  for 
the  education  of  the  young,  but  we  hold  it  to  be  a 
primary  duty  to  provide  for  the  mental  training  of 
each  generation,  both  for  the  safety  of  the  govern- 
ment and  the  efficiency  of  the  people.  While  the 
government  may  not  establish  any  form  of  religion, 
it  must  authorize  the  founding  of  religious  institu- 
tions and  protect  the  same.  The  Sabbath  is  by  law 
made  a  sacred  day,  religious  assemblies  are  guarded 
from  disturbance,  and  religious  organizations  are 
authorized  to  acquire  and  hold  property.  As  it  is 
not  our  purpose  to  discuss  these  subjects  in  detail, 
only  calling  attention  to  them  for  illustration,  we 
need  not  give  further  analysis  of  the  same. 

All  political  prerogatives  are  determined  by  the 
Constitution  under  which  we  live,  and  to  exercise 
these  prerogatives  means  much  more  than  an  effort 
to  put  men  in  office.  We  are  not  a  democracy — 
the  people  directly  enacting  laws — but  a  republic, 


1^6  Choosing  a  Lifewori^ 

representative  in  form.  A  representative  system 
throws  the  strongest  temptations  in  the  way  of 
ambitious  men,  and  it  is  notorious  that  poUtics  is 
widely  and  fearfully  corrupt. 

It  is  certainly  of  the  first  importance  who  shall 
be  elected  to  positions  of  responsibility,  taking  into 
account  personal  character,  individual  capability, 
and  the  principles  advocated.  It  is  not  safe  to  choose 
good  men  on  a  dangerous  platform,  or  bad  men  on 
a  safe  platform,  for  the  personality  and  the  political 
creed  mutually  influence  each  other.  We  need  men 
of  good,  irreproachable  character  and  of  sound 
political  creed,  who  have  the  courage  of  their  con- 
victions. Then  there  are  many  profound  questions, 
which  demand  the  deepest  study,  that  continually 
confront  us,  such  as  the  following:  How  can  we 
adjust  the  differences  between  capital  and  labor? 
Labor  strikes  are  exceedingly  unfortunate — capital 
becomes  idle,  and  the  laboring  man  ceases  to  earn 
wages;  wh^t  can  be  done  to  insure  the  enjoyment 
of  existing  rights  to  both  parties  in  the  controversy  ? 
Is  the  principle  of  a  protective  tariff  sound,  and  its 
employment  politic,  or  shall  a  tariff  be  imposed  for 
revenue  only  ?  When  we  find  it  generally  profitable 
to  enter  the  markets  of  the  world  with  our  products 
how  shall  we  raise  revenue  to  sustain  the  govern- 
ment? In  our  currency  is  bimetalism  desirable? 
and,  if  desirable,  can  it  be  maintained  when  the  rela- 
tive amount  of  gold  and  silver  mined  is  constantly 
changing?     Will  the  government  stamp  equalize  the 


Politics  as  a  Vocation  147 

circulation,  or  will  the  cheaper  displace  the  dearer? 
How  do  trusts  dififer  from  partnerships?  How  are 
they  inimical  to  public  interests  ?  How  do  they  de- 
range healthy  business  methods?  Does  the  evil 
consist  in  the  pooling  of  profits  or  in  the  monopoly 
created?  Is  it  a  wise  policy  to  expand  our  territory? 
Is  it  our  duty  to  become  a  world-power  in  order  to 
extend  the  blessings  of  our  free  institutions?  What 
reasons  exist  for  the  election  of  senators  in  Congress 
by  the  direct  vote  of  the  people,  and  what  objections 
can  be  urged  against  it  ?  Is  there  danger,  from  the 
present  trend  of  affairs,  of  too  great  centralization 
of  power  in  the  hands  of  the  general  government? 

Without  further  enumeration  of  problems,  it  is 
apparent  to  every  thoughtful  citizen  that  there  is  a 
broad  field  in  political  science  that  may  well  be  trav- 
ersed by  the  student,  and  which  calls  for  conscien- 
tious and  careful  study. 

Practical  politics  and  political  scheming  to  carry 
elections  mean  the  same  thing.  In  the  spoils  of 
office  we  find  the  strongest  party  bonds.  Platforms 
are  framed  to  catch  votes,  not  to  be  the  firm  foun- 
dation of  statehood.  The  party  shibboleth  does 
not  grow  out  of  the  earnest  convictions  of  patriots ; 
it  is  not  the  honest  rallying  cry  of  men  who  love 
their  country  with  an  unselfish  devotion;  but  it  is 
a  shrewd,  calculating  pronouncement  for  party  ends. 
Yet  there  are  times  when  great  political  battles  are 
fought  with  a  consciousness  of  impending  dangers, 
often  when  the  very  life  of  the  nation  seems  to  be  at 


14B  Choosing  a  Lifework 

stake.  This  was  the  case  in  the  campaign  of  1896, 
when  the  issue  was  hard  money  as  against  soft 
money.  Many  men  broke  through  party  bonds, 
sacrificing  personal  poHtical  interests  because  of  an 
intense  love  of  country.  In  i860  it  was  a  battle  of 
freedom  with  slavery,  the  extension  of  slave  terri- 
tory or  its  limitation.  The  South,  acting  probably 
from  serious  convictions,  was  determined  that  all 
territorial  restraints  of  their  peculiar  institution 
should  be  swept  away,  while  the  conscience  of  the 
people  of  the  North  had  been  aroused  to  prevent 
this  result.  It  is  evidently  true  that  there  has  been 
an  honest  difference  of  opinion  on  the  tariff.  But 
the  question  raised  by  political  leaders,  commonly, 
is  not.  What  does  the  country  need  ?  but.  What  will 
be  popular  with  the  masses?  While  these  words 
are  being  penned  men  are  taxing  their  ingenuity  to 
devise  some  form  of  issue  that  will  attract  the  people 
to  their  ranks  in  the  next  presidential  election.  They 
are  not  looking  into  the  interests  of  this  great  re- 
public so  much  as  planning  to  get  a  majority  of 
votes  for  party  advantage. 

We  have  a  great  many  politicians  in  this  country, 
yet  but  few  statesmen ;  for  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  politics  and  statesmanship  are  not  identical. 
Nothing  is  grander  and  more  creditable  than  states- 
manship; and  nothing  can  be  more  contemptible 
than  politics  often  shows  itself  to  be.  Statesman- 
ship is  constructive;  it  is  the  capability  of  rearing 
strong    statehood;    it    is    a    comprehensive    under- 


Politics  as  a  Vocation  i^  149 

standing  of  the  nation's  life  and  wants.  It  cannot 
exist  without  a  profound  knowledge  of  the  institu- 
tions of  the  country,  their  relations  the  one  to  the 
other,  their  genesis  and  growth.  It  is  the  ability 
wisely  to  judge  of  the  trend  of  the  nation's  life, 
with  a  clear  view  of  the  factors  yet  to  be  supplied 
to  complete  that  which  has  only  in  part  been  reared. 
It  must  take  in  the  future,  gazing  into  the  years  yet 
to  come,  in  order  wisely  to  act  in  the  present.  It 
does  not  build  for  a  day,  but  for  a  decade  of  cen- 
turies. Therefore  in  it  there  must  be  foresight, 
the  ability  to  trace  causes  to  their  legitimate  effects, 
a  synthetic  power  to  rear  symmetrically  the  struc- 
ture of  the  nation. 

A  politician  sees  nothing  beyond  his  party;  he 
clings  to  his  party,  right  or  wrong.  And  so  no- 
torious is  his  partisanship  that  the  lexicographer 
defines  him  a  ^'schemer,"  an  ^'intriguer."  If  prin- 
ciples are  involved,  he  holds  to  them  for  the  sake  of 
his  party ;  he  does  not  uphold  the  party  for  the  sake 
of  the  principles  which  it  proclaims.  Is  he  a 
Democrat  ?  He  does  not  adhere  to  the  party  because 
of  the  platform  on  which  it  stands;  he  keeps  his 
place  in  the  ranks  even  should  the  platform  be  placed 
bottom  side  up.  If  a  Republican,  his  political  creed 
may  undergo  a  complete  transformation  provided  it 
increases  the  chance  of  riding  into  power.  The 
history  of  parties  has  shown  that  the  most  sacred 
thing  is  office.  Politics  is  a  scramble  in  which  more 
than  one  of  the  ten  commandments  is  broken. 


■.?^i»' 


ISO  Choosing  a  Lifework 

It  is  pleasant  to  be  able  to  say  that  the  nation  is 
not  wholly  destitute  of  statesmanship.  There  are 
men  whose  patriotism  is  beyond  question,  and  who 
prize  their  country  far  more  than  the  success  of  any 
party.  They  are  seeking  to  build  up  statehood  on 
imperishable  foundations.  And  this  spirit  may  be 
more  widely  prevalent  than  it  seems  to  be.  It  is 
unfortunate  that  our  institutions  are  in  the  hands  of 
political  organizations,  and  to  avoid  this  seems  to 
be  an  impossibility.  Our  fathers  in  ordaining  the 
choice  of  President  of  the  United  States  by  an  elec- 
toral college  vainly  imagined  that  patriotism  would 
rise  above  partisan  dictation,  but  this  is  the  office, 
above  all  others,  for  which  partisan  scheming  be- 
came intense  and  practically  unlimited.  And,  while 
parties  should  stand  for  principles,  the  fact  is  that 
principles  are  overslaughed  by  party  ambitions 
and  greed.  The  partisan  spirit  warps  the  judgment 
and  blinds  the  vision  so  that  statesmanship  becomes 
an  alloy  of  wisdom  and  folly,  of  logic  and  prejudice; 
it  is  practically  an  atmosphere  full  of  clouds. 

There  are  many  young  men  who  are  ambitious  to 
figure  in  politics.  Bright  visions  of  leadership  in 
State  and  national  affairs  appear  before  them.  The 
most  distinguished  positions  can  be  reached  only 
through  political  agencies.  The  governorship  of 
the  State,  a  seat  in  the  Senate,  the  presidency  of  the 
republic,  who  can  expect  to  reach  these  coveted 
places  of  honor  without  handling  political  forces? 
Several  considerations  must  be  regarded. 


Politics  as  a  VocATtoi^  igi 

First.  However  admirable  your  qualifications, 
there  is  not  room  for  all  of  you.  There  is  no  other 
field  in  which  talent  has  so  poor  a  chance  to  win.  In 
business  all  may  succeed.  In  our  mutual  dependence 
one  helps  the  other.  Two  persons  may  exchange  prod- 
ucts and  both  be  richer  therefor.  In  law  or  medi- 
cine superior  attainments  will  be  sure  to  reap  their 
reward.  The  skillful  agriculturist  does  not  fail  be- 
cause he  has  so  many  competitors;  if  he  sustains  a 
loss,  it  is  because  of  lack  of  skill.  There  is  room  for 
all  in  any  line  of  industry  and  in  any  profession. 
Occupations  are  not  so  crowded  as  to  be  a  positive 
bar  to  success;  talent,  tact,  and  energy  will  always 
win.  It  is  certain  there  will  not  be  more  than  half 
a  score  of  Presidents  of  the  United  States  in  a  gen- 
eration, while  a  thousand  men,  equally  capable,  can- 
not possibly  reach  the  goal.  Two  men  in  each 
State  succeed  in  getting  into  the  national  Senate, 
but  how  many  more,  not  less  learned  and  brilliant, 
find  all  their  hopes  blasted!  While  two  politicians 
only  gain  the  prize,  hundreds  may  reach  the  high- 
est plane  in  legal  lore  or  medical  science,  or  in  busi- 
ness pursuits ;  these  vocations  are  never  so  full  that 
merit  must  fail  to  attain  its  reward.  One  of  every 
pair  of  political  candidates  must  be  defeated,  and  he 
who  wins  this  year  may  fail  at  the  next  election, 
and  should  you  be  eminently  successful  at  first,  envy 
will  strike  terrible  blows  at  your  reputation ;  others 
of  your  own  party  will  insist  on  taking  your  place. 
A  young  man  is  unwise  to  enter  a  line  of  activity, 


152  Choosing  a  Lifework 

thinking  he  can  make  it  his  trade  or  profession, 
in  which  the  great  majority,  in  the  nature  of  the 
case,  must  fail. 

Second.  Practical  politics  is  full  of  moral  dan- 
gers. It  is  notoriously  unfair.  A  political  speaker 
seldom  tells  the  whole  truth.  The  political  press 
exaggerates  on  the  one  side  and  minimizes  on  the 
other.  Too  frequently  wrong  is  made  to  appear 
right,  falsehood  to  be  the  truth.  Personal  character 
is  formed  by  our  employments.  To  tell  half  truths 
as  though  they  were  whole  truths  makes  the  life 
insincere.  Withholding  a  part  is  deception  in  which 
there  is  moral  obliquity.  No  one  can  be  fully  trusted 
who  allows  himself  to  be  a  partisan.  It  is  said  that 
"all  is  fair  in  politics;''  in  other  words,  that  every 
form  of  deception  is  allowable  in  accomplishing 
political  ends.  This  is  an  admission  of  the  truth  of 
our  charge,  that  in  order  to  achieve  the  end  sought  it 
is  a  common  thing  to  resort  to  what,  in  other  mat- 
ters, would  be  regarded  as  questionable  procedure. 
But  you  must  remember  that  genuine,  unwarped 
manhood  is  worth  more  than  any  other  good  the 
soul  can  possess.  To  devote  the  life  to  that  which 
presents  the  strongest  temptations  to  prevarication, 
to  the  blinding  of  the  moral  vision,  to  a  laxity  of 
conscience,  is  to  court  dangers  which  are  almost  sure 
to  paralyze  the  fibers  of  your  moral  being. 

Third.  Corruption  has  found  its  way  into  all  the 
political  forces  by  which  ends  are  accomplished. 
Generally  party  councils,  to  whose  dictum  you  must 


Politics  as  a  Vocation  153 

submit,  do  not,  as  has  been  said,  ask  the  question, 
What  does  the  country  need?  but,  What  is  poHtic? 
This  creates  an  atmosphere  which  is  full  of  miasma. 
Associations  in  which  the  fundamental  principle  is 
not  the  maintenance  of  right,  but  success  at  any 
cost — the  end  justifying  the  means — sweep  away  all 
anchorage  and  make  the  life  the  prey  of  the  vilest 
ambitions.  The  low  moral  standards  by  which  acts 
are  judged  in  political  circles  open  the  way  for  a 
perfect  flood  o-f  corruption.  With  a  high  ideal, 
even,  there  is  not  absolute  perfection  of  life,  but 
when  the  end  sought  is  the  getting  of  votes — not 
honorably,  but  the  getting  of  them  honorably  or 
dishonorably — the  voice  of  conscience  is  silenced, 
and  right  is  not  allowed  to  interfere.  In  the  midst 
of  such  a  spirit  every  moral  restraint  is  liable  to 
yield.  On  the  highest  plane  of  politics,  as  in  legis- 
lative assemblies,  we  would  expect  to  find  personal 
integrity  guiding  in  the  affairs  of  the  nation,  but 
much  of  practical  legislation  is  a  travesty  on  justice; 
it  is  secured  by  unholy  methods.  Wrong  does  not 
stop  at  the  ballot  box.  We  wish  it  did  not  extend 
any  further  into  public  affairs.  Some  of  the  dark- 
est pages  of  history  are  written  in  legislative  halls. 
Measures  are  not  voted  on  their  merits,  but  as  the 
result  of  corrupt  combinations.  The  friends  of  a 
bill  get  support  by  lending  their  influence  for  some 
other  bill  known  to  be  pernicious.  Bargain  and 
sale !  If  money  is  paid  for  votes,  it  is  called  bribery ; 
but  if  votes  are  the  compensation  furnished,  it  is 


154  Choosing  a  Lifework 

considered  to  be  the  result  of  sharp  poHtical  engi- 
neering! Yet  the  support  is  bought,  a  consideration 
is  paid,  in  one  case  as  much  as  in  the  other. 

Fourth.  You  cannot  be  a  reformer  if  you  pursue 
poHtics  as  a  trade.  To  fight  that  which  is  evil  in 
your  party  is  not  likely  to  win  to  you  support.  Such 
support  you  can  get  only  by  magnifying  the  merits 
of  the  party,  worshiping  at  its  shrine.  Yet  you 
ought  to  be  a  reformer.  You  should  insist  on  pu- 
rity and  uprightness  in  that  which  is  political  not  less 
than  in  the  Church  itself.  But  this  will  hardly 
make  you  available  for  office.  The  average  man 
must  fall  in  with  all  the  schemes  of  the  party  to 
receive  its  favors.  There  may  be  a  few  who  possess 
such  distinguished  ability  as  to  secure  the  support  of 
the  people  in  spite  of  adverse  party  influence,  but  the 
number  is  very  small.  It  is  well  understood  that 
the  highest  places  are  not  generally  occupied  by  the 
most  talented  of  our  citizens.  They  cannot  afford 
to  run  the  risks  incurred  by  being  shoved  aside  to 
make  room  for  those  who  lead  in  party  intrigue. 
And  we  need  a  still  larger  number  of  talented  men 
who  refuse  to  have  a  party  leash  around  their  necks. 
Something  ought  to  be  done  to  break  the  chains  of 
political  tyranny,  giving  more  freedom  of  action. 
If  the  young  men  of  the  Epworth  League,  the  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  Association,  the  Baptist  Young 
People's  Union,  the  Christian  graduates  of  our  col- 
leges and  universities,  would  organize  themselves  to 
correct  partisan  wrongs,  they  would  soon  make  their 


Politics  as  a  Vocation    .  155 

power  felt  to  such  a  large  extent  that  politicians 
would  find  greater  difficulty  in  bidding  defiance  to 
the  public  weal  and  overriding  moral  restraints. 

Nothing  is  grander  than  honest  and  capable 
political  leadership.  Nothing  is  more  daingerous 
than  dishonest  leadership.  You  should  be  a  student 
of  political  problems,  interesting  yourself  in  the 
affairs  of  the  nation.  You  should  fit  yourself  to  be 
a  leader  among  men,  attending  the  primaries,  never 
staying  away  from  the  polls.  In  the  better  and 
more  responsible  sense  of  the  word  you  should  be  a 
politician.  You  should  feel  an  interest  in  your 
country,  seeking  to  promote  its  welfare.  You  should 
be  ready  and  eager  to  cooperate  in  building  up  the 
institutions  which  stand  for  her  organic  life.  In- 
difference to  political  interests  is  not  creditable  to 
any  American  citizen;  it  shows  the  absence  of  a 
patriotic  spirit.  Conscientiously  seek  to  influence 
the  political  movements  of  the  day,  but  do  not  make 
politics  your  trade.  Be  a  farmer,  a  mechanic,  a 
merchant,  a  lawyer,  a  minister,  a  teacher,  a  physi- 
cian, a  railroad  man,  that  you  may  earn  a  livelihood 
and  accumulate  capital  to  bestow  upon  the  great 
beneficent  interests  of  the  land  in  which  you  live; 
but  in  connection  with  your  special  pursuits  remem- 
ber that  the  state  has  claims  upon  you,  honestly, 
and  in  the  fear  of  God,  to  stand  by  the  free  and  hu- 
mane institutions  which  have  cost  so  much  in 
treasure  and  blood  from  the  time  our  ancestors 
landed  on  the  New  England  coast.     If  a  politician, 


iS^  Choosing  a  Lifework 

be  a  Christian  politician;  and  if  a  Christian,  keep  in 
mind  the  fact  that  your  reUgion  must  not  be  con- 
fined to  the  closet,  but  should  reach  out  to  every 
interest  of  the  race — ^business,  social,  and  political. 
Intelligent  young  men  should  become  the  saviours 
of  the  nation.  Those  who  have  passed  middle  life 
have  generally  become  fixed  in  their  opinions  or 
prejudices,  and  are  unwilling  to  depart  from  the  old 
paths.  The  party  name  holds  them,  whatever  po- 
litical creed  has  been  adopted.  But  the  country 
moves  on.  Everything  is  undergoing  transforma- 
tion. New  conditions  are  constantly  arising  which 
call  for  modifications  of  policy.  Young  men  may 
take  hold  of  the  questions  which  force  themselves  on 
their  attention  without  the  drawbacks  which  restrain 
those  who  are  older  in  years. 


Quarrying  Nature  157 


CHAPTER  XII 
Quarrying   Nature 

All  material  industries  have  until  recently  been 
viewed  almost  exclusively  from  the  standpoint  of 
manual  labor.  Intellectually  they  have  been  placed 
below  the  professions.  But  since  the  field  of  science 
has  attracted  the  attention  of  thinking  people,  and 
colleges  and  universities  have  opened  the  way  for 
extensive  study  in  this  great  domain,  the  application 
of  the  forces  of  nature  to  the  industrial  arts  has 
dignified  the  labor  of  the  hands  and  brought  it  in 
close  proximity  to  the  highest  themes  of  thought. 
Three  forms  of  matter  are  known  to  us — the  solid, 
the  liquid,  and  the  gaseous — which  in  their  coopera- 
tive action  give  rise  to  innumerable  products  both  in 
the  animate  and  inanimate  world.  Many  of  these 
products  bear  directly  on  industries  through  which 
capital  is  created  and  the  happiness  of  life  secured. 
The  further  our  investigation  are  carried  the  more 
complex  and  wonderful  nature  is  found  to  be,  and 
the  greater  is  seen  to  be  the  need  of  trained  intellects 
to  understand  it. 

There  are  three  great  lines  of  industry :  first,  the 
unfolding  and  developing  of  the  resources  of  nature; 
second,  the  production  of  higher  forms  from  the 
lower;  third,  the  bringing  of  the  products  of  labor 
within  reach  of  the  consumer. 


158  Choosing  a  Lifework 

We  find  imbedded  in  the  earth,  as  a  part  of  it, 
certain  very  vahiable  products,  such  as  gold  and 
silver,  copper  and  iron,  coal  and  marl,  salt  and  rock, 
and  on  its  surface  soil  for  the  growth  of  vegetation. 

No  one  can  overestimate  the  value  of  iron  in  the 
arts.  Some  metals  are  valuable  because  of  their 
scarcity ;  iron  is  valuable  because,  with  the  qualities 
it  possesses,  it  is  abundant.  Were  it  limited  in 
amount,  like  gold,  while  from  its  nature  we  could  not 
utilize  it  as  we  now  do  gold,  the  place  it  occupies  in 
the  industrial  world  could  never  have  been  filled  by 
any  substance  which  has  yet  been  discovered.  Gold 
and  silver  serve  a  purpose  quite  unlike  iron.  From 
the  small  quantity  in  which  they  are  found,  with  the 
great  labor  of  procuring  the  same,  and  their  almost 
absolute  freedom  from  impairment  by  the  action  of 
the  atmosphere,  they  are  admirably  fitted  for  use  as 
coin.  It  would  not  be  easy  to  find  a  substitute  as  the 
basis  of  a  circulating  medium,  and  without  such 
basis  paper  could  not  be  safely  used  for  currency, 
as  experiments  have  indisputably  shown.  While 
these  are  widely  distributed,  in  small  quantities, 
through  the  earth — even  gold  existing  everywhere 
in  the  waters  of  the  ocean — the  great  Architect  of 
nature  has  provided  for  the  segregation  of  these 
minerals  in  such  quantities  that  they  can,  in  many 
places,  be  profitably  mined  for  use.  Some  interesting 
problems  it  has  been  necessary  to  solve  in  order  to 
reduce  these  ores  so  as  to  obtain  the  metals  in  their 
simple  forms.     Copper  is  found  in  comparatively 


Quarrying  Nature  159 

large  quantities,  and,  while  it  cannot  be  put  to  the 
same  purposes  for  which  we  employ  iron,  it  has  some 
special  uses  of  great  value  to  which  no  other  sub- 
stance is  so  fully  adapted.  The  value  of  common 
salt  is  well  understood,  and  its  supply  is  inexhaust- 
ible. 

While  largely  our  continents  and  islands  are 
covered  with  loose  material  for  the  growth  of  vege- 
tation, it  certainly  is  a  manifestation  of  divine  fore- 
sight that  a  considerable  portion  is  rock  that  but 
slowly  crumbles  in  pieces.  Thus  we  have  not  only 
building  material,  but  mountain  ranges  where  clouds 
are  formed,  and  from  which  our  river  systems  take 
their  rise,  making  the  earth  productive  and  habit- 
able. 

Every  year  reveals  to  us  new  resources,  or  brings 
them  more  fully  within  our  reach.  The  marl  beds 
are  coming  to  be  the  basis  of  extensive  industries, 
and  from  alumina,  the  base  of  the  clay,  we  have 
learned  cheaply  to  extract  aluminum,  a  metal  which, 
from  its  toughness  and  slight  specific  gravity,  will 
find  a  large  place  in  the  arts,  and  probably  will  con- 
stitute the  chief  material  for  the  construction  of 
ships  to  carry  the  commerce  of  all  lands.  As  elec- 
tricity is  inexhaustible  as  a  force,  so  in  alumina 
there  is  enough  of  this  valuable  metal  to  supply  the 
wants  of  the  race  for  all  time. 

In  tracing  the  changes  which  have  taken  place 
in  the  earth  up  to  the  time  of  the  appearance  of 
man,  nothing  more  clearly  proclaims  divine  foresight 


i6o  Choosing  a  Lifework 

and  beneficent  providence — a  teleology  having  man 
in  view — than  the  immense  deposits  of  coal.  The 
globe  which  we  inhabit  was  at  first  a  nebulous  mass ; 
then  it  condensed  into  a  fiery  liquid  which,  by  the 
escape  of  heat,  became  enveloped  by  an  intensely 
hot  rocky  crust  which  the  water  surrounded  in  the 
form  of  vapor.  The  gradual  escape  of  heat  at  last 
allowed  of  the  condensation  of  the  principal  part  of 
the  aqueous  vapor  into  a  liquid,  from  which  the 
lakes  and  oceans  were  formed,  and  a  period  of  vege- 
tation set  in.  The  large  amount  of  vapor  remain- 
ing in  the  air,  and  the  exceedingly  warm  tempera- 
ture still  prevailing,  supplied  a  condition  specially 
favorable  to  vegetable  growth.  This  is  called  the 
carboniferous  period,  as  the  luxurious  vegetation 
being  deposited  in  lakes,  bays,  and  other  bodies 
of  water,  and  being  covered  over  by  mineral  depos- 
its, partially  decayed,  resulting  in  vast  aggregations 
of  coal,  of  great  value  as  fuel  and  for  use  in  the  in- 
dustrial arts.  From  this  also  we  get  our  petroleum 
and  natural  gas,  and,  by  a  process  of  distillation,  the 
illuminating  gas  on  which  we  so  largely  depend. 
More  wonderful  than  this,  we  have  been  able  to  ex- 
tract therefrom  compounds  of  special  value  in  medi- 
cine, showing  that  God  had  all  our  physical  needs  in 
view  in  preparing  this  world  for  our  habitation. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  these  astonishing  re- 
sources have  been  waiting  for  the  development  of 
such  a  measure  of  civilization  in  the  human  family 
that  they  could  be  utilized  in  the  highest  degree  for 


Quarrying  Nature  i6r 

the  welfare  of  all.  The  great  Architect  of  nature 
did  not  scatter  his  beneficence  loosely  over  the  face 
of  the  earth,  to  be  wasted  by  the  unthinking  mass; 
he  hid  away  these  resources  beneath  the  surface, 
to  be  sought  for,  thus  promoting  human  industry 
and,  still  further,  requiring  the  exercise  of  brain 
power  to  adapt  them  to  our  needs — hence  awaken- 
ing and  disciplining  the  mind  while  the  needs  of  the 
body  are  conserved.  God's  purpose  was  to  bring  the 
human  family  gradually  to  a  state  of  great  intellec- 
tual power  through  the  industries  by  which  the  com- 
forts of  life  are  obtained. 

We  are  especially  concerned,  in  this  chapter,  with 
the  agricultural  problems  which  are  of  such  vital 
interest  to  us  all.  Food,  clothing,  and  the  material 
for  shelter  come  from  the  soil.  Agriculture  is  the 
chief  of  all  industries.  It  must  be  put  in  the  lead 
because  every  person  is  dependent  on  it  for  subsist- 
ence, and  because  more  human  beings  are  engaged 
in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  than  in  all  other  employ- 
ments combined.  The  amount  of  capital  invested 
reaches  an  almost  incredible  sum.  If  skillfully 
handled,  wealth  and  abundance  of  comforts  are  the 
result;  and  poverty  stalks  abroad  in  the  land  in 
proportion  to  the  extent  that  farming  is  shiftless, 
or  unwisely  prosecuted.  In  the  President's  Cabinet 
is  a  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  a  distinction  enjoyed 
by  no  profession  and  no  other  industrial  interest. 
To  make  agriculture  the  most  profitable  is  the  broad 
problem  on  which  millions  of  people  are  employed. 


1 62  Choosing  a  Lifework 

Within  this  there  are  subordinate  problems  which 
call  for  careful  and  intelligent  study. 

Farming  is  generally  classified  as  unskilled  labor. 
It  is  true  that  fine  manipulation  is  not  needed,  as  in 
making  a  watch,  adjusting  the  bearings  of  an  engine, 
or  in  the  manufacture  of  cutlery,  but  yet  there  is  no 
employment  in  which  more  intelligence  is  required, 
especially  so  wide  a  range  of  intelligence.  There 
are  to  be  noted  the  succession  of  the  seasons,  the  laws 
of  climatology,  the  science  of  meteorology,  the  prin- 
ciples of  chemistry,  the  facts  of  geology  and  miner- 
alogy, and  the  relations  of  all  to  botany  and  zoology. 
The  traditions  of  the  fathers  may  be  followed  with 
valuable  results,  but,  unless  agriculture  has  reached 
a  state  of  absolute  perfection,  each  year  should 
mark  an  improvement  over  the  year  preceding. 
Look  at  some  of  the  questions  that  arise. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  is  the  selection  of  a 
farm.  Many  things  must  be  considered,  such  as, 
the  quality  of  the  soil ;  the  character  of  the  subsoil ; 
the  amount  of  rainfall  during  the  year;  the  liability 
to  seasons  of  drought;  the  adaptation  of  the  land 
to  grain  culture  or  grazing.  Is  the  farm  clear  from 
obstructions,  or  is  it  covered  with  stone;  does  it 
contain  timber  needed  for  improvements;  is  it  in  a 
natural  fruit  section;  is  it  convenient  to  market;  is 
the  soil  easy  or  difficult  to  work?  It  is  evident 
that  in  the  selection  of  a  farm  there  is  need  of  clear 
mental  vision,  with  an  understanding  of  the  many 
elements  which  enter. practically  into  the  problem. 


Quarrying  Nature  163 

A  young  man  who  has  been  trained  in  farm  work 
by  a  skillful  agriculturist  has  almost  a  college  edu- 
cation. He  has  learned  what  to  do,  how  to  do  the 
work  in  hand,  and  when  the  work  should  be  done. 
But  it  is  important  to  understand  the  reasons  for 
every  act  performed,  or  else  the  preparation  is  in- 
adequate for  independent  farm  management.  Agri- 
culture has  its  chemistry,  a  chemistry  of  soils  and  a 
chemistry  of  the  crops  raised.  The  theory  of  rota- 
tion of  crops  is  chemical.  The  fertility  of  the  soil 
depends  on  three  things:  its  chemical  constituents, 
their  solubility,  and  the  mechanical  condition  of  the 
soil.  The  plant  cannot  take  up  the  material  for 
growth  when  in  the  form  of  a  solid.  The  reason 
that  a  soil  becomes  unfertile  by  continuous  growth  of 
the  same  kind  of  crop  is  not  that  the  elements  needed 
have  all  been  used  up,  but  only  the  soluble  portions. 
Let  the  soil  rest  and  its  productiveness  will  be  in- 
creased— not  by  further  supply  of  plant  food,  but 
because  through  the  action  of  the  air  it  gradually 
becomes  soluble.  Hence  the  value  of  summer  fal- 
lowing. To  increase  the  fertility  of  the  soil  is  a 
mixed  problem.  There  is  the  adding  of  the  material 
for  growth  and  the  making  available  that  which  was 
not  in  a  state  favorable  to  absorption  and  assimila- 
tion. The  pulverizing  of  the  soil  meets  two  demands 
— providing  for  its  easy  penetration  by  the  roots, 
and  for  the  free  action  of  the  air.  There  is  a  phi- 
losophy of  plant  growth  deep  and  broad  enough  for 
the  best  intellects.     Nowhere  is  there  more  to  invite 


164  Choosing  a  Lifework 

thought  and  tax  the  powers  of  the  mind.  Whether 
they  be  understood  or  not,  successful  farming  rests 
on  scientific  principles  which  cannot  be  set  aside  or 
disregarded.  He  only  is  wise  who  puts  knowledge 
before  action,  or  in  connection  with  acts  seeks  for 
knowledge;  who  enthrones  reason,  not  tradition,  in 
the  administration  of  affairs.  If  mind  is  more  than 
body,  if  mental  food  exceeds  in  value  the  physical, 
in  connection  with  all  our  employments  there  should 
be  the  training  of  the  intellectual  faculties;  and  if 
farming  fails  to  open  the  way  for  thought  and  study, 
it  may  well  be  discredited  as  a  life  employment.  But 
if  in  itself  it  offers  opportunities  and  inducements 
for  mental  culture,  it  is  certainly  one  of  the  grandest 
and  most  profitable  employments  in  the  whole  range 
of  occupations. 

The  number  of  questions  that  arise  in  farming 
are  without  limit,'  as,  the  adaptation  of  the  soil  to 
specific  forms  of  agriculture ;  the  preparation  of  the 
soil  by  fertilization  and  mechanical  cultivation  for 
the  crop  to  be  raised ;  the  care  of  the  crop  during  the 
period  of  its  growth;  the  maturing  and  harvesting 
of  the  same ;  the  succession  of  crops ;  the  raising  of 
stock  and  the  selection  of  that  which  is  most  profit- 
able; the  feeding  and  housing  of  animals;  reclama- 
tion of  impoverished  soils ;  treatment  of  marsh  lands ; 
adjusting  cost  to  income;  selection  of  the  best  farm- 
ing implements — all  these  and  many  other  subjects 
calling  for  intelligent  judgment  and  careful  manage- 
ment.    Instead  of  decrying  agriculture  as  a  menial 


Quarrying  Nature  165 

employment,  rather  might  we  exclaim,  ''Who  is  suf- 
ficient for  these  things?"  In  most  cases  farming 
calls  for  more  than  the  farmer  can  supply.  Gener- 
ally he  fails  to  rise  to  the  demands  made  on  his  in- 
telligence. 

The  poorest  agriculture  is  found  in  countries 
which  are  on  the  lowest  plane  of  civilization.  In 
such  countries  there  is  no  adequate  conception  of  the 
resources  of  the  soil,  and  the  methods  employed  are 
of  the  rudest  kind.  Nothing,  perhaps,  gauges  thought 
and  skill  more  than  the  farm  implements  we  have  in- 
vented and  brought  into  use.  It  is  a  great  distance 
from  the  sharpened  piece  of  wood,  with  which  the 
soil  is  stirred  in  some  pagan  lands,  up  to  our  Ameri- 
can plow  and  cultivator;  from  the  sickle  to  the 
reaper  and  mower;  from  the  flail  to  the  steam 
thrasher;  from  the  pestle  for  grinding  to  the  patent- 
process  flouring  mill.  These  improvements  are  all 
the  work  of  thoughtful  minds.  In  farming  the 
mightiest  force  is  brain  power. 

That  this  fact  is  appreciated  by  the  public  is  shown 
by  the  establishment  of  colleges  with  the  explicit 
purpose  of  educating  young  men  for  the  intelligent 
cultivation  of  the  soil.  These  colleges  endeavor  to 
accomplish  three  things :  First,  the  training  of  the 
mind  by  the  prosecution  of  studies,  as  in  other  insti- 
tutions of  learning  of  a  high  grade.  The  mind  must 
be  sharpened ;  it  must  be  trained,  through  the  gaining 
of  knowledge;  it  must  learn  how  to  think;  it  must 
gain  power.     Second,  the  young  man  must  acquire 


1 66  Choosing  a  Lifework 

a  knowledge  of  those  sciences  on  which  rational 
agriculture  depends.  He  needs  to  be  a  chemist,  a 
botanist,  a  biologist,  with  a  wide  range  of  knowledge 
in  zoology.  The  study  of  branches  in  these  depart- 
ments of  nature  is  disciplinary,  and  also  opens  to 
view  the  laws  and  forces  which  operate  in  the 
growth  of  the  plant  and  the  life  of  the  animal  king- 
dom. Third,  there  must  be  a  specific  application  of 
natural  science  in  the  manual  operations  of  the  farm. 
The  mechanical  and  scientific  clasp  hands,  and 
thought  wields  the  scepter  of  authority  in  the  vari- 
ous methods  employed. 

There  has  been  a  disposition  to  decry  what  is 
called  ''book"  farming.  For  this  there  is  some 
ground  when  by  book  farming  is  meant  a  preparation 
for  agriculture  simply  by  the  reading  of  books  on 
scientific  themes.  There  is  a  manual  training,  a 
practical  experience  in  farm  processes  and  manage- 
ment, which  cannot  be  dispensed  with.  A  person 
must  know  how  to  handle  a  plow  as  well  as  be 
posted  in  the  theory  of  soil  culture  by  means  of  the 
plow ;  he  must  understand  the  method  of  cultivation 
not  less  than  the  chemistry  of  growth.  It  is  not 
enough  to  determine  that  certain  substances  are 
good  fertilizers,  but  also  the  economy  of  their  use. 
Tile  drainage  adds  to  the  productiveness  of  the  soil, 
but  will  it  increase  the  fertility  sufficiently  to  make 
it  a  good  investment?  It  certainly  will  not  pay  to 
expend  ten  dollars  on  an  acre  when  but  five  dollars 
wall  be  received  in  return.     Reading  facts  and  prin- 


Quarrying  Nature  167 

ciples,  in  the  study,  may  lead  to  the  greatest  blunders 
unless  accompanied  by  practical  experience.  A 
person  who  has  spent  his  youth  and  early  man- 
hood in  a  profession,  or  in  commercial  pursuits  in  a 
city,  commonly  makes  an  utter  failure  by  retiring  to 
a  farm  in  later  years.  As  in  everything  else,  he 
needs  the  benefit  of  early  thought  and  training  as  a 
preparation  for  the  pursuit  to  be  followed  after 
middle  life. 

If  by  book  farming  is  meant  the  reading  by  the 
farmer  of  scientific  works  which  apply  to  agricul- 
ture, and  the  careful  perusal  of  our  best  agricultural 
journals  for  the  purpose  of  understanding  more 
fully  the  principles  involved  and  the  mode  of  utiliz- 
ing the  same,  the  objection  urged  is  unworthy  of 
the  slightest  regard.  Why  should  not  the  farmer 
avail  himself  of  the  investigations  and  experiences 
of  the  best  thinkers  and  most  skillful  cultivators  of 
the  soil  in  every  part  of  the  land?  It  would  be  as 
rational  to  advocate  the  improvement  of  commerce 
by  destroying  our  telegraph  and  telephone  systems 
and  tearing  up  our  railroad  tracks — the  exclusion  of 
information — as  to  propose  that  we  dispense  with 
the  discussion  of  agricultural  problems  by  the  press 
in  order  to  make  farming  profitable.  The  advice 
we  would  give  to  every  farmer  is  to  live  a  student 
life,  not  as  a  substitute  for  that  which  is  practical  in 
his  daily  pursuits,  but  to  perfect  the  practical.  Enter 
into  an  intellectual  communion  with  the  great  mass 
of  mind  that  is  dealing  directly  with  nature. 


i6S  Choosing  a  LiPEwoftit 

There  is  a  spirit  of  unrest  among  young  men 
who  have  been  brought  up  on  the  farm.  They  are 
alkired  by  what  appear  to  them  to  be  special  attrac- 
tions of  the  cities.  Wealth  is  massed  in  the  great 
centers  of  population.  It  is  seldom,  if  ever,  that 
a  man  becomes  a  millionaire  by  the  cultivation  of 
the  soil;  and  farm  work  is  arduous  as  well  as  only 
moderately  remunerative.  The  most  distinguished 
public  men  generally  make  their  home  in  these  large 
centers.  There  you  get  nearer  to  the  people,  and 
the  opportunities  for  exerting  a  wide  influence  are 
greater  than  anywhere  else. 

The  large  influx  into  the  cities  from  the  country 
is  rapidly  changing  the  ratio  of  population.  One 
third  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States  now 
live  in  cities,  and  by  the  same  ratio  of  increase  in 
the  future  as  in  the  past  over  half  of  the  people  of 
this  country  will  be  residents  of  the  great  centers  in 
less  than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Mr.  Strong,  in 
the  September  issue,  1897,  ^^  ^he  North  American 
Review,  tells  us  that  if  the  rate  of  growth  of  cities 
continues  to  be  as  great  as  between  1880  and  1890, 
the  cities  of  the  United  States  in  1920  will  contain 
10,000,000  more  than  one  half  of  our  population. 

Young  men  should  note  the  fact  that,  while  a  few 
attain  unto  great  wealth  or  great  distinction  in  the 
professions  by  removal  to  the  cities,  with  the  large 
number  the  change  has  been  made  at  a  positive  loss. 
Pecuniarily  the  average  gain  of  those  who  stay  at 
home  is  greater  than  of  those  who  leave  the  farm. 


Quarrying  Nature  169 

And  in  the  country  there  is  less  inequality.  While 
there  are  only  a  few  who  are  very  rich,  there  are  but 
few  who  are  very  poor.  There  is  a  law  of  industry, 
however,  which  must  enter  into  our  calculations: 
more  and  more  will  capital  be  created  through  the 
use  of  machinery,  and  to  that  extent  lessen  the  de- 
mand for  human  labor.  Improved  farming  imple- 
ments are  every  year  diminishing  this  demand.  The 
steam  plow,  the  cultivator,  the  horserake,  the  corn- 
cutter,  the  reaper  and  mower  reduce  the  number  of 
farm  hands  and  drive  them  where  other  employ- 
ments can  be  procured.  Four  men,  it  is  said,  will 
to-day  do  on  the  farm  the  work  whSfch  required  four- 
teen men  but  a  short  time  ago. 

Where  can  these  unemployed  men  go  if  not  to  the 
cities?  There  is  a  repellant  force  in  the  country, 
while  the  city  opens  its  arms  to  receive  the  people. 
Centers  of  manufacturing,  mechanical  and  commer- 
cial industries,  they  will  increase  in  population, 
while  the  tendency  will  exist  to  deplete  the  popula- 
tion where  farming  is  prosecuted.  For  a  time  this 
tendency  is  held  somewhat  in  check  by  the  need  of 
labor  to  open  new  and  uncultivated  sections  of  the 
West.  When  this  demand  is  met  the  migration  to 
the  cities  will  be  even  more  rapid  and  constant. 
Nothing  can  prevent  this  unless  higher,  more  per- 
fect, soil  culture  can  be  secured.  But  improve  the 
farming  and  the  amount  of  products  is  correspond- 
ingly increased,  and  to  the  extent  of  the  excess  thus 
created  there  will  be  a  cheapening  of  the  price,  which 


170  Choosing  a  Lifework 

of  itself  will  drive  laborers  into  the  city.  These 
considerations  answer  the  question,  Why  do  not  the 
excess  of  laborers  in  the  city  go  out  into  the  country  ? 
While  in  the  cities  there  is  a  large  unemployed,  or 
poorly  employed,  class,  because  of  excess  of  this 
portion  of  population,  yet  the  vast  aggregate  of  work 
inspires  hope  in  the  midst  of  all  discouragements. 
And  then  it  is  not  an  easy  thing  for  the  very  poor 
to  get  out  of  the  city;  with  most  of  them  starvation 
would  be  certain. 

The  problem  which  we  need  to  solve  is  not  how  to 
hold  the  people  in  the  country,  but  how  to  make 
farm  work  most  profitable.  A  freedom  of  action 
will  adjust  the  ratio  of  population,  but,  in  the  case 
of  the  great  agricultural  class,  by  what  means  can 
their  financial  condition  be  improved?  There  is 
but  one  way.  Better  farming,  resulting  from  a 
more  thorough  knowledge  of  the  principles  which 
underlie  this  great  industry,  is  what  is  needed.  This 
knowledge  can  be  gained  by  the  aid  of  our  agricul- 
tural colleges,  the  agricultural  press,  local  associa- 
tions for  the  discussion  of  the  theory  and  practice  of 
farming,  and  from  the  employment  of  the  various 
forms  of  personal  mental  improvement.  The  farmer 
should  be  the  most  intelligent  man  in  every  commu- 
nity. In  the  sciences  which  underlie  his  vocation 
there  is  an  unlimited  field  for  study.  He  should 
seek  to  know  the  reason  for  all  that  he  does,  and, 
understanding  the  groundwork  of  his  art,  he  can 
make  that  art  more  profitable.     A  thoroughly  in- 


Quarrying  Nature  171 

structed  farmer  has  almost  a  university  education, 
and  out  from  that  education  should  grow  wealth  if 
wise  methods  are  employed.  Agriculture  can  and 
should  be  made  attractive  by  means  of  the  wide  field 
of  study  offered  and  the  profits  of  intelligent  labor ; 
while  the  country  as  a  home  possesses  moral  safe- 
guards for  the  rearing  of  a  family  v/hich  the  city 
does  not  supply. 


\^2  Choosing  a  Lifework 


CHAPTER  XIII 
Man  the  Builder 

The  magnitude  of  results  in  action  or  movement 
depends  on  two  conditions :  the  qualifications  of  the 
actor,  and  the  breadth  of  opportunity  for  action. 
A  man  may  possess  extraordinary  capabilities,  but 
in  the  absence  of  a  grand  field  for  their  employment 
no  great  work  is  achieved.  Daniel  Webster  could 
not  make  a  great  speech  without  a  great  theme,  but 
when  the  doctrine  of  nullification  was  in  issue  his 
marvelous  reply  to  Hayne  became  possible.  Out 
from  a  great  occasion  an  inferior  mind  cannot  bring 
forth  magnificent  results.  A  person  of  less  mental 
caliber  than  Webster  would  have  failed  to  meet  the 
issue  of  nullification  with  such  masterful  arguments. 
The  vocations  discussed  in  the  preceding  chapters 
are  seen  to  be  sufficiently  broad  for  the  greatest 
minds.  In  any  one  of  them  the  most  ambitious 
young  man  will  find  enough  to  employ  powers  of  a 
superior  order. 

In  the  mechanic  arts  we  are  introduced  into  a 
world  wholly  of  man's  creation.  We  are  not  to 
consider  here  primary  resources  embedded  in  nature, 
but  devices  for  the  utilization  of  such  forces.  We 
have  to  do  with  machinery  constructed  by  man,  from 
the  bow  and  arrow  up  to  the  Mauser  rifle  and  Krupp 
gun;    from   the   corduroy   road    to   the   Brooklyn 


Man  the  Builder  173 

Bridge;  from  the  Indian  dugout  up  to  the  magnifi- 
cent steamer  that  carries  the  commerce  of  the  seas. 

In  nothing  does  man  show  his  superiority  to  the 
rest  of  the  animal  kingdom  more  than  in  his  abihty 
to  handle  implements  of  industry.  The  dog  digs  in 
the  earth  with  its  paws,  man  with  a  hoe  or  spade. 
The  beaver  cuts  down  the  tree  with  his  teeth,  man 
with  an  ax.  The  bird  gathers  material  for  the  nest 
with  its  beak;  man  constructs  his  dwelling  with 
hammer  and  saw.  The  fish  propels  its  body  through 
the  water  with  fins ;  man  constructs  a  boat  and  sends 
it  forward  with  oars  or  sails  or  steam  power.  This 
difference  is  not  accidental,  nor  wholly  the  result 
of  the  higher  grade  of  the  human  intellect.  It  is,  to 
a  large  extent,  the  outcome  of  a  physiological  prob- 
lem. The  quadruped  would  find  it  difficult  to  throw 
a  stone.  For  this  he  needs  an  erect  form.  And 
bipeds  like  birds  and  fowls  could  perform  this  act  no 
more  easily  or  successfully.  Man  has  a  bodily 
structure  by  which  he  is  fitted  to  be  an  artisan.  The 
human  hand  is  a  wonderful  organ  which  opens  to  us 
a  world  of  achievements  where  thought  finds  its 
highest  realizations.  The  body  is  a  prophecy  of 
mind.  Without  the  hand  the  intellect  would  be 
comparatively  useless,  and  an  order  of  beings  of 
lower  mental  grade  than  man  would  find  the  hand 
almost  an  incumbrance.  Thus  mind  and  hand  are 
a  dual  power,  each  essential  to  the  other. 

In  the  last  of  the  preceding  chapters  we  considered 
the  primary  resources  of  nature.     From  the  soil, 


174  Choosing  A  LiFEwoRK 

with  the  aid  of  the  atmosphere,  the  sunhght,  and  the 
rains,  we  get  our  bread.  Bread?  Bread  does  not 
grow.  With  implements  man  has  devised  we  clear 
the  land  of  obstructive  vegetation;  we  break  up 
the  soil  with  the  plow  that  has  been  invented  for 
this  very  purpose ;  we  cover  the  seed  by  means  of  a 
cultivator  arranged  for  its  proper  distribution;  we 
harvest  the  ripened  grain  with  the  reaper;  we  sepa- 
rate the  grain  with  the  thrasher;  we  grind  it  with 
machinery  in  a  flouring  mill ;  we  bake  the  flour  into 
bread  by  means  of  culinary  apparatus  through  the 
heat  supplied  from  the  combustion  of  wood  cut  from 
the  forest  or  coal  dug  from  the  mines  by  implements 
of  art.  It  is  a  great  way  from  the  soil,  where  the 
process  begins,  to  the  dinner  table,  where  the  bread 
is  consumed  and  our  hunger  allayed,  and  at  every 
step  art  is  employed. 

We  can  determine  history  without  the  printed 
page.  Archaeology  takes  us  back  to  a  stone  age. 
There  were  a  few  implements  then  in  use,  but  they 
were  made  not  of  iron  or  any  other  metal,  but  of 
stone.  Art  there  was,  but  it  was  crude,  and  dis- 
played limited  knowledge.  The  stone  hammer,  the 
chipped  arrowhead,  tell  their  story,  but  it  is  a  brief 
one,  and  the  life  lived  was  on  the  lowest  plane.  In 
all  relations,  private  and  public,  man  was  very  near 
the  soil,  art  had  accomplished  only  meager  results, 
and  thought  had  a  narrow  range.  It  was  a  stone 
age,  for  knowledge  had  introduced  the  race  to 
nothing  higher  or  better. 


Man  the  Builder  175 

This  is  followed  by  the  bronze  age,  in  which  man 
employed  an  alloy  of  metals,  making  known  to  us  the 
fact  that  he  had  taken  some  steps  up  toward  a  higher 
civilization.  New  material  for  the  arts  had  been 
discovered  and  processes  employed  which  opened 
the  way  for  more  effective  industry. 

In  time  the  iron  age  appeared.  The  metal  was 
extracted  from  the  ores,  art  not  only  receiving  an 
impulse  which  looked  toward  a  loftier  plane  of  life, 
but  unlimited  possibilities  came  within  the  reach  of 
the  race.  This  age  has  not  closed,  and  it  never  will. 
Art  is  now  producing  ten  thousand  forms,  and  in 
every  direction  mental  achievements  are  being  made. 
It  is  a  gauge  of  life;  it  is  an  interpreter  of  life;  it  is 
an  inspiration  and  promoter  of  life. 

The  divine  Architect  completed  his  work  in  put- 
ting nature  within  our  reach — nature  a  realm  of 
law,  containing  within  itself  forces  for  the  execution 
of  law.  This  done,  the  material  world  is  turned  over 
to  man.  Art,  the  inventions  of  man,  consists  of 
provisions  for  utilizing  force.  There  are  the  muscu- 
lar and  nervous  energies  of  the  hand,  the  strength  of 
the  horse,  the  momentum  of  the  wind,  the  gravita- 
tion of  matter — especially  in  its  liquid  form,  as  water 
— the  elasticity  of  steam,  the  illuminating  and  pro- 
pelling power  of  electricity,  the  explosive  force  in 
gunpowder,  etc.  Aside  from  determining  the  nature 
of  these  forces,  it  has  been  left  to  the  human  intellect 
to  provide  means  for  employing  them  in  the  pro- 
duction of  results. 


1/6  Choosing  a  Lifework 

We  have  mentioned  the  fact  that  the  hand  is  an 
organ  of  facile  power,  and  that  it  is  intended  tO'  be 
the  special  servant  of  the  mind.  But  from  the 
simplest  to  the  most  complex  movements  it  does  not 
perform  its  work  except  by  the  use  of  some  instru- 
ment especially  designed  for  a  particular  end.  We 
use  the  knife,  the  fork,  the  spoon  at  our  meals — even 
the  Chinese  handle  chopsticks ;  we  write  with  a  pen ; 
we  chop  with  an  ax ;  we  cut  with  a  saw ;  we  smooth 
wood  with  a  plane ;  we  turn  the  bolt  with  a  wrench ; 
we  paint  with  a  brush ;  we  drive  the  nail  with  a  ham- 
mer ;  w^e  lift  with  a  lever ;  for  the  very  simplest  move- 
ments we  make  a  requisition  on  the  arts.  A  survey 
of  the  field  of  industry  brings  out  the  fact  that  we 
accomplish  everything  through  the  instrumentality 
of  machinery.  Even  agriculture,  treated  in  the 
preceding  chapter,  in  which  we  come  nearest  to 
primary  conditions  of  labor,  cannot  be  prosecuted 
without  special  implements  of  husbandry.  And  sa 
rapidly  has  machinery  been  introduced  that  the  ef- 
ficiency of  human  labor  has  been  multiplied  many 
fold  over  that  of  a  hundred  years  ago. 

The  activities  of  the  mechanic  arts  may  be  divided 
into  two  classes:  the  manual  labor  employed,  and 
the  mental  factor  entering  into  the  problem.  Manual 
labor  may  be  put  into  two  divisions,  namely,  skilled 
and  unskilled.  Unskilled  labor  is  the  lowest  form 
of  manual  operations.  It  is  a  labor  of  beginners, 
and  of  a  large  number  of  persons  who  do  not  im- 
prove by  practice,  or  who  continue  to  perform  the 


Man  the  Builder  177 

simplest  kinds  of  industry.  Naturally  the  compen- 
sation received  is  on  the  lowest  plane  of  wages. 
Skilled  labor  is  labor  requiring  experience,  dexterity 
— labor  in  which  expertness  is  required,  in  which  there 
is  dexterity  gained  by  discriminating  action  of  the 
muscles.  It  is  a  product  of  the  joint  action  of  mind 
and  body.  This  possesses  greater  value  than  the 
former,  because  of  its  higher  grade  and  its  greater 
scarcity. 

The  mental  factor  in  the  mechanic  arts  is  that 
to  which  we  would  call  your  special  attention.  We 
would  not  write  this  chapter  for  young  men  and 
women  who  have  not  the  capability  or  spirit  for 
superior  intellectual  work.  Is  there  a  sphere  of 
operation  in  mechanics  for  those  who  are  talented, 
for  such  as  are  endowed  by  nature  for  high  personal 
achievements  ? 

Everything  in  the  material  world  is  under  law; 
every  mechanical  device  is  employed,  in  accordance 
with  law,  for  personal  and  public  good.  It  needs  no 
argument  to  convince  anyone  that  it  is  better  to 
work  with  eyes  open  than  with  eyes  closed.  The 
rational  on  the  material  side  holds  out  advantages 
far  beyond  the  empirical. 

There  is  no  sphere  where  great  minds  have  dis- 
played their  powers  more  than  in  the  inventions  by 
which  the  mechanic  arts  have  been  raised  to-  their 
present  proportions.  The  Columbian  Exposition  in 
Chicago  in  1893  surprised  as  well  as  delighted  every- 
body who  wandered  through  those  buildings.     It 


178  Choosing  a  Lifework 

was  not  all  art,  but  art  had  to  do  with  it  all.  Even 
the  products  of  the  soil  and  of  the  mines  were 
wrought  out  or  procured  by  art.  Painting  and 
sculpture  are  designated  the  fine  arts,  but  they  belong 
to  that  great  field  in  which  man  supplements  nature 
with  his  genius  acting  on  nature.  From  the  one 
side  to  the  other  of  the  exposition  grounds — made 
a  fairyland- — there  was  the  display  of  human  in- 
telligence showing  its  special  and  varied  triumphs  in 
the  United  States,  in  England,  in  France,  in  Ger- 
many, in  Russia,  in  Italy,  in  Spain,  in  nearly  every 
civilized  land.  Here  was  mind  manifesting  itself 
in  concrete  forms  of  the  most  varied  and  useful 
constructions.  Even  the  fish  were  there  only  be- 
cause man  had  planned  their  capture  and  mechan- 
ically made  provision  for  their  keeping  and  safety. 
He  would  be  a  paragon  in  mental  power  who  could 
compass  in  imagination  and  thought  all  that  the 
genius  of  man  had  wrought  out  in  the  different  lands 
of  the  earth.  The  word  "manufactures''  is  perhaps 
as  broad  a  term  as  our  language  contains  to  express 
the  products  of  human  ingenuity  in  material  things. 
Such  exquisite  and  diverse  fabrics  for  clothing  and 
adorning  the  body;  such  charming  and  luxurious 
vehicles  for  transportation;  such  wonderful  models 
in  ship  carpentry ;  such  highly  wrought  and  palatial 
railroad  coaches  in  contrast  with  the  ruder  structures 
of  three  quarters  of  a  century  ago ;  such  motors  for 
machinery  both  stationary  and  movable;  such — ^but 
to  enumerate  would  be  an  endless  task.     Yet  the 


Man  the  Builder  179 

Paris  Exposition  of  1900  will  almost  inconceivably 
excel  the  exposition  of  seven  years  previous  in  every- 
thing, and  this  because  of  what  the  mind  has  devel- 
oped in  these  few  revolutions  of  the  sun.  The  watch 
does  not  surpass  the  sundial  as  an  instrument  for 
marking  time  any  more  than  the  printing  press  of  ^ 
to-day  surpasses  the  press  of  fifty  years  ago;  any 
more  than  the  mechanical  appliances  in  every  line 
of  industry  excel  the  machinery  our  fathers  em- 
ployed but  a  few  decades  in  the  past.  Here  we  find 
a  world  of  mind  where  marvelous  achievements  are 
made;  where  thought  has  played  a  part  not  less 
grand  than  in  any  of  the  professions. 

There  are  both  the  inventing  and  handling  of 
machinery.  Inventions  lie  right  along  the  line  of 
scientific  principles.  Nothing  has  characterized  the 
learning  of  the  last  century  more  than  the  attention 
given  to  science,  in  its  development,  and  the  place 
accorded  to  it  in  the  education  of  the  people. 
Understanding  nature  better,  knowing  how  she  per- 
forms her  work,  we  come  to  see  the  need  of  further 
machinery,  and  the  world  of  mechanics  grows  with 
increasing  rapidity. 

There  is  no  material  interest  of  life  to  which 
thought  is  devoted  with  more  intensity  than  this. 
The  speed  of  railroad  trains  at  forty  miles  an  hour 
is  a  great  advance  over  the  early  rate  of  ten  miles 
an  hour,  but  we  are  seeking  now  for  an  average 
speed  of  sixty  or  eighty  miles.  The  Springfield 
rifle,  which  had  such  a  good  reputation  at  the  time 


i8o  Choosing  a  Lifework 

of  the  civil  war,  put  us  greatly  at  disadvantage  when 
we  commenced  hostilities  with  Spain  a  third  of  a 
century  later.  Is  the  Krupp  gun  a  finality  in  heavy 
ordnance?  They  tell  us  it  is  not.  New  methods 
are  devised  for  cheapening  the  cost  of  the  gun,  less- 
ening the  time  for  manufacture,  and  greatly  in- 
creasing its  durability.  A  single  man-of-war  of  our 
present  navy  would  sink  a  hundred  such  vessels  as 
we  employed  a  third  of  a  century  ago.  The  analogy 
holds  in  every  department  of  mechanical  industry. 
In  the  boyhood  of  the  writer  the  wheat  was  cut  with 
the  cradle,  raked  up  and  bound  from  the  swath, 
the  grain  trodden  out  by  horses  in  the  barn,  win- 
.nowed  by  the  fanning  mill,  shoveled  into  bags  by 
hand.  Now  the  machine  reaps  and  thrashes  and 
cleans  the  wheat,  filling  the  bags  ready  for  market 
out  in  the  open  field. 

But  a  few  years  ago  the  type  for  printing  was  all 
set  with  human  fingers ;  to-day  it  is  set  by  machinery, 
is  electrotyped,  and  printed  on  a  press  of  marvelous 
capacity,  and  with  speed  at  the  rate  of  48,000  an 
hour.  Our  grandmothers  used  the  spinning  wheel 
and  distafif,  toilsomely  spinning  a  few  skeins  of 
yarn  between  sunrise  and  sunset.  To-day  the  spin- 
ning wheel  is  only  a  relic  of  the  weary  past,  and  the 
great  manufactory  does  a  thousandfold  more  work 
with  the  greatest  ease.  But  a  few  years  ago  our 
postal  system,  at  the  fleetest,  depended  on  a  relay 
of  horses  to  speed  the  carrier;  now  the  railroad  train 
covers  nearly  one  thousand  miles  a  day,  and  the 


Man  the  Builder  i8i 

telegraph  sends  its  message  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific  so  quickly  as  scarcely  to  be  measured  by  ap- 
preciable time.  Before  the  day  of  steam  power  six 
weeks  were  needed  to  get  tidings  from  Europe;  now 
our  steamers  traverse  the  ocean  in  less  than  seven 
days,  and  the  news  of  a  battle  fought  in  the  Philip- 
pines on  Saturday  is  received  in  Washington  by 
cable  the  Friday  preceding. 

Some  of  the  most  astonishing  achievements  are 
witnessed  in  engineering.  Will  not  the  Rocky 
Mountains  be  almost  an  impassable  barrier  between 
the  Mississippi  valley  and  the  Pacific  slope?  We 
can  build  our  railroads  on  a  level  and  make  a  cut 
through  hills  of  a  hundred  feet  and  less  in  elevation ; 
but  when  the  mountains  rise  ten  thousand  feet  at 
their  lowest  depression,  and  are  solid  rock  from  base 
to  summit,  does  not  nature  say,  'Thus  far,  no  far- 
ther, canst  thou  go?"  And  yet  the  civil  engineer 
lays  his  track  and  builds  the  road  up  the  mountain's 
side,  many  thousands  of  feet  above  sea  level,  and 
down  on  the  further  declivity  until  it  comes  to  the 
level  of  the  sea  again,  and  the  man  at  the  throttle 
of  the  engine  carries  his  train  safely  up  dizzy  heights 
and  down  the  great  declihe;  and  this  day  after  day. 
Nothing  seems  too  great  for  the  mechanical  ingenu- 
ity of  man.  Whether  we  shall  be  able  to  construct 
machines  for  safe  and  profitable  navigation  in  the 
air  it  may  not  be  easy  as  yet  to  determine;  and 
though  Andree  may  have  perished  in  his  balloon 
venture,  the  north  pole  will  yet  be  reached. 


1 82  Choosing  a  Lifework 

In  my  young  manhood  there  was  no  poetic 
dream  so  wild  as  to  anticipate  the  achievements  in 
electricity  which  are  only  prose  at  this  closing  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  For  illumination,  for  transmis- 
sion of  intelligence  through  the  air  and  under  the 
sea,  as  a  motor  driving  machinery,  it  is  making 
history  for  man  in  all  these  civilized  lands.  Steam 
is  becoming  almost  a  back  number.  Water  power, 
though  supplied  by  nature  without  cost,  is  much  too 
slow  for  our  use.  In  a  few  years  horses  will  seldom 
be  seen  on  our  streets,  and  factories  will  run  with  a 
power  which  is  foreshadowed  by  the  lightning  flash 
in  the  clouds,  but  harnessed  to  machinery  and  con- 
trolled as  easily  as  the  horse  is  guided  by  its  driver, 
and  with  much  more  precision.  Niagara  Falls  will 
not  have  a  monopoly  of  electrical  power  transmitted 
to  a  neighboring  city.  Not  relatively  merely,  but 
absolutely,  electricity  is  inexhaustible.  It  is  not 
destroyed  in  its  consumption ;  it  simply  changes  con- 
dition and  is  ready  to  be  harnessed  for  its  brilliant 
dash  or  mighty  tug  in  the  movements  of  nature. 

Compressed  air  may  yet  play  a  great  part  in  me- 
chanical operations.  Like  gravitation  and  electric- 
ity, it  simply  awaits  our  word  of  command.  The 
law  of  its  action  we  understand ;  the  mechanism  for 
its  general  use  is  all  that  is  needed,  and  this  is  now 
being  supplied. 

But  we  are  almost  overwhelmed  with  astonish- 
ment by  the  recent  developments  in  regard  to  liq- 
uid  air.     That   air   can   be    liquefied   by   pressure 


Man  the  Builder  183 

and  reduction  of  heat  is  a  new  discovery. 
But,  liquefied,  is  it  anything  more  than  a  nov- 
elty, as  the  north  pole,  if  reached,  will  be 
only  a  point,  not  a  thing  ?  That  the  air  liquefied  can 
be  used  in  the  arts  with  tremendous  effect  must  now 
be  admitted.  Surely  the  inventor  and  the  practical 
mechanic  do  not  find  the  world  contracting  as  they 
move  on  to  the  future,  but  new  fields  of  vast  extent 
open  before  them.  Civil  engineering,  mechanical 
engineering,  mining  engineering,  electrical  engineer- 
ing, present  problems  of  great  magnitude,  which  call 
for  the  highest  grade  of  intelligence  and  the  widest 
scholarship. 

Not  until  after  the  present  century  had  reached 
its  meridian  was  it  considered  to  be  the  mission  of 
the  college  to  prepare  young  men  for  anything  else 
than  the  professions.  Higher  education  was  believed 
to  have  no  further  field  of  operation.  "What  does 
a  man  need  of  a  college  education  who  is  to  be  a 
farmer  or  mechanic?"  But  the  veil  which  covered 
the  eyes  of  the  people  has  been  torn  off,  and  an  un- 
limited demand  for  scholarship  is  found  in  all  de- 
partments of  human  industry.  He  who  plans  a 
bridge  across  the  Niagara  or  the  East  River,  with  all 
the  mathematics  required,  pure  and  applied,  need 
not  fear  to  stand  beside  the  tallest  statesman  in  the 
United  States  Senate.  The  man  who  tunnels  a 
river  and  makes  it  a  highway  of  trade  shapes  the 
destiny  of  the  future  as  certainly  and  grandly  as  the 
legislators  who  determine  the  commercial  policy  of 


1 84  Choosing  a  Lifework 

the  government.  To  make  speeches  in  Congress — 
however  eloquent — on  questions  of  poHtical  moment 
is  not  building  up  our  country  in  that  which  makes 
us  great  more  than  is  the  engineer  who  carries 
the  railroad  through  canyons,  across  rivers,  along 
the  declivities  of  great  mountains,  putting  the  two 
halves  of  the  continent  commercially  and  socially 
in  touch  with  each  other.  To  do  requires  great 
capabilities  not  less  than  to  talk;  the  actor  will  yet 
be  king. 

In  the  mechanic  arts  there  is  a  wide  scope  for  in- 
dustry. Much  of  the  work  done  will  continue  to 
be  unskilled;  it  will  be  on  the  lower  plane  of  manual 
operations,  not  admitting  of  much  improvement.  In 
this  a  large  number  will  receive  employment  and  can- 
not demand  large  remuneration.  Above  this,  of 
many  grades,  there  is  work  calling  for  the  skill  of 
trained  muscles  and  of  developed  minds — clear  judg- 
ment, with  aptness  of  movement.  We  speak  of  that 
which  is  strictly  manual  employment.  Then  there  is 
the  work  of  superintendence,  in  which  management 
is  required  in  addition  to  mechanical  skill.  In  this 
case  we  may  expect  to  find  both  foremen  and  con- 
tractors. Still  further  on  we  come  to  the  architect 
who  works  out  the  plan  of  construction,  with  all  that 
is  involved  therein.  And  last  of  all,  and  fundamen- 
tal to  it  all,  there  is  the  inventor,  who,  studying  the 
laws  of  nature  and  the  application  of  the  forces 
with  which  law  is  informed,  conceives  of  mechanical 
devices  for  achievement  of  special  results.     In  this 


Man  the  Builder  185 

domain  of  action  there  is  certainly  room  for  thought, 
for  the  employment  of  trained  powers,  for  scholar- 
ship which  broadens  the  intellect,  and  for  skill  which 
enables  the  individual  to  realize  that  which  is  most 
perfect  in  art.  He  whose  tastes  would  lead  him  into 
this  field  of  industry  will  find  a  world  large  and 
varied,  and  grand  enough  for  the  highest  powers 
of  his  intellectual  nature.  It  is  well  that  in  some  of 
our  colleges  departments  have  been  established  for 
the  study  of  the  mechanical  arts. 


i86  Choosing  a  Life  work 


CHAPTER  XIV 
The  Creation  of  Values 

A  LARGE  proportion  of  the  industries  of  civilized 
lands  consists  of  the  processes  of  exchange.  Between 
production  and  consumption,  in  most  cases,  neces- 
sary labor  intervenes  which  enhances  the  value  of  the 
products.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  values  may 
change  without  any  modification  in  quantity  or  qual- 
ity of  the  article  itself.  A  pound  of  tea  in  Detroit 
has  larger  value  than  in  China.  Wheat  in  New 
York  is  more  valuable  than  in  Dakota.  We  mean 
by  value  the  market  price,  not  inherent  properties. 
Air  is  essential  to  life,  but  is  without  value,  as  it  is 
free  to  all. 

Value  is  imparted  by  human  labor ;  it  is  the  price 
which  such  labor  will  bring.  Wheat  in  the  elevator 
may  have  its  value  increased  or  lessened  without 
itself  undergoing  any  change.  This  depends  wholly 
on  the  market.  Now,  any  object  which  will  serve 
a  purpose,  for  which  there  is  a  demand,  and  on 
which  labor  has  been  bestowed,  possesses  value. 
Gold  is  more  valuable  than  silver,  not  because  of  its 
color  or  weight,  but  because  greater  effort  is  re- 
quired to  procure  it.  Services  only  are  exchange- 
able. Values  are  increased,  first,  by  such  changes 
as  fit  for  new  uses,  or  more  completely  for  uses 
already  served;  second,  by  the  labor  and  cost  of 


The  Creation  of  Values  187 

transportation  and  care,  the  bringing  the  object 
within  reach  of  the  consumer. 

Life  is  not  individual  existence  only,  as  we  have 
seen;  there  is  a  mutual  dependence  which  reaches 
out  to  all  the  interests  of  our  being.  Isolation  is 
not  an  enlargement  of  power,  but  rather,  as  has  been 
said,  a  restriction  of  power.  There  is  no  independ- 
ence without  dependence.  Duality  appears  at  the 
v'ery  beginning  of  life.  The  child's  existence  reaches 
back  to  a  twofold  parentage,  and  in  his  training  he 
is  better  and  stronger  because  of  the  manly  influence 
of  the  father  and  the  womanly  influence  of  the 
mother.  Starting  from  the  family,  the  first  indus- 
trial and  social  unit,  a  broader  unit  is  reached»in  the 
community,  thence  forward  to  the  state,  the  nation, 
and  the  world. 

Everyone  recognizes  the  benefit  of  division  of 
labor.  No  person  attempts  to  do  everything,  to 
produce  every  article  he  consumes.  The  farther  we 
get  away  from  the  savage  state  the  more  widely 
does  this  principle  apply.  The  red  man  hunts  his 
game,  eats  the  flesh,  clothes  himself  with  the  skins 
of  wild  beasts,  makes  for  himself  a  rude  portable 
hut,  and  this  comprises  the  principal  part  of  his 
industries.  Civilization  means  a  multiplying  of  in- 
dustries within  the  state  or  the  nation,  but  not  a 
homogeneity  of  occupations.  The  tendency  is  rather 
to  the  narrowing  of  each  line  of  employment  with 
the  improvement  of  the  arts.  This  is  economy.  A 
person  will  accomplish  more  in  a  day  or  year  by 


1 88  Choosing  a  Lifework 

prosecuting  a  single  form  of  labor  during  the  whole 
period  than  by  dividing  up  his  time  in  a  dozen  pur- 
suits. And  the  use  of  machinery  on  a  large  scale 
has  changed  the  modes  of  industry,  organizing  great 
centers  where  a  multitude  of  men  are  employed  in  a 
single  line,  while  a  few  scores  of  years  ago  one  man 
would  divide  up  his  time  on  nearly  a  score  of  em- 
ployments. To  produce  one  thing  and  purchase  a 
hundred  is  more  profitable  than  to  produce  a  hun- 
dred kinds  of  articles  with  one's  own  hands. 

In  the  multiplication  of  distinct  industries  we  are 
evidently  working  out  the  plans  of  Providence.  The 
rotundity  of  the  earth  produces  inequality  of  climate 
in  different  parts  of  the  globe.  The  vegetable  life 
of  the  tropics  is  widely  different  from  that  of  other 
latitudes.  We  can  get  the  benefit  of  nature's  pro- 
ductions in  the  tropics  only  by  importing  them.  The 
great  Architect  of  the  universe  compels  intercom- 
munication and  interdealing  of  widely  separated 
lands  if  the  resources  of  nature  are  to  be  most  fully 
utilized.  Railroads  and  steamships,  telegraphs  and 
ocean  cables,  have  thrown  us  into  relations  with  all 
parts  of  the  globe.  God  evidently  intended  that 
one  country  should  be  dependent  on  every  other. 

The  city  and  the  rural  sections  must  prosecute 
unlike  employments.  The  people  at  the  great  cen- 
ters cannot  produce  their  own  food,  either  vegetable 
or  animal,  while  concentration  of  population  pro- 
vides a  market  for  the  products  of  the  farm.  If 
there  are  cities,  there  must  be  commerce. 


The  Creation  of  Values  189 

Around  great  manufactories  cities  are  sure  to 
spring  up,  and  if  on  the  seashore,  on  lakes  or  large 
rivers — at  points  from  which  transportation  can 
easily  be  effected — such  cities  are  sure  to  reach  large 
dimensions.  Machinery  makes  manufactories ;  manu- 
factories create  cities ;  commerce,  becoming  a  neces- 
sity, stimulates  the  industries  which  carry  forward 
cities  to  a  larger  growth.  Thus  it  appears  that  out 
from  the  life  with  which  God  has  supplied  us  our 
wants  cannot  be  met  without  commerce.  To  dispense 
with  commerce  our  cities  must  be  destroyed,  the 
people  scattered  throughout  the  rural  districts,  and 
each  individual  consume  principally  the  products  of 
his  own  hands.  Without  commerce  we  must  go  far 
back  toward  the  primitive  or  savage  state.  And 
though  the  aborigines  of  this  country  did  not  build 
cities  or  establish  stores  for  trade,  yet  even  they,  to 
a  limited  extent,  indulged  in  exchange.  This  they 
could  not  avoid. 

But  we  can  find  the  need  of  exchange  farther  back 
still,  embedded  in  our  very  life.  People  are  unlike 
in  industrial  tastes  and  capabilities.  Some  incline 
to  agricultural  pursuits,  others  to  mechanical  oper- 
ations, while  others  still  are  most  at  home  in  some 
of  the  professions.  It  all  has  a  bearing  on  material 
prosperity ;  the  world  is  richer  as  the  result  thereof. 
The  teacher  in  training  the  mind  of  the  boy  fits  him 
for  a  more  intelligent  prosecution  of  industry,  con- 
tributing to  the  wealth  of  the  world.  The  physician 
administers  remedies  to  the  sick,  bringing  health 


190  Choosing  a  Lifework 

back  again  for  the  labor  of  the  hands.  The  min- 
ister in  carrying  forward  his  work  of  moral  eleva- 
tion removes  the  most  potent  influence  for  idleness 
and  vice.  In  proportion  as  the  people  are  virtuous 
they  are  industrious,  and  are  wealth-producers.  The 
legal  profession  is  established  in  the  interest  of  jus- 
tice. As  laws  are  executed  and  wrongs  suppressed 
material  prosperity  is  secured.  Even  in  the  most 
primary  social  unit,  that  of  the  family,  there  must 
be  diverse  employments.  The  husband  could  not 
carry  forward  his  work  to  advantage  without  the 
labor  of  his  wife  in  preparing  his  meals,  caring  for 
his  clothing,  and  with  her  hands  arranging  things 
for  his  comfort.  To  say  that  the  husband  is  a  pro- 
ducer is  telling  only  half  of  the  truth.  The  wife 
helps  him  to  be  a  producer;  her  own  work  as  well 
as  his  practically  enters  into  the  product. 

This  is  the  principle  we  are  seeking  to  elucidate, 
that  there  is  and  must  be  an  almost  endless  diversity 
of  employments;  that  in  our  industries  we  are  all 
interdependent,  each  helping  the  other,  each  receiv- 
ing from  the  other;  we  are  exchanging  services, 
and  must  do  so  to  carry  out  the  plan  on  which  life  is 
built.  That  the  material  well-being  of  the  people 
may  be  secured  in  the  largest  measure  some  must 
produce  from  the  soil,  others  by  means  of  mechan- 
ical arts,  and  still  others  engage  in  the  work  of  ex- 
change. The  producer  would  find  it  extremely  in- 
convenient, and  very  expensive,  to  hunt  up  a  custom- 
er and  deliver  the  goods  at  his  door,  getting  from 


The  Creation  of  Values  191 

him  or  some  one  else  what  he  needs  in  return.  Hence 
there  has  grown  up  a  middle  occupation — a  mer- 
cantile or  commercial  class,  purchasing  what  the 
several  members  of  the  community  wish  to  sell  and 
keeping  for  sale  what  they  wish  to  buy.  They  bring 
oranges  from  Florida,  tea  from  China,  coffee  from 
Java,  a  variety  of  articles  from  the  places  where 
they  are  produced,  so  that  we  are  not  compelled  to 
travel  all  over  the  earth  to  get  what  we  need.  The 
cloth  of  which  our  garments  are  made  is  manufac- 
tured at  one  place,  our  shoes  at  another,  out  hats  at 
another,  at  great  distances  from  our  home,  it  may 
be;  but  the  merchant  brings  these  goods  into  the 
community  in  which  we  live,  and  thus  our  wants 
are  readily  supplied.  The  difference  between  the 
merchant's  selling  and  buying  price  is  his  remuner- 
ation for  the  service  rendered.  By  this  arrangement 
there  is  great  economy  as  well  as  convenience.  Ex- 
change is  one  of  the  three  great  industries  of  the 
race. 

The  field  of  commerce  is  of  great  magnitude.  It 
reaches  out  to  all  lands  and  embraces  every  product 
of  nature  and  the  arts.  It  consists  of  grades  with- 
out number,  from  the  sale  of  shoestrings  on  the  street 
to  the  vast  importations  from  foreign  lands  by  means 
of  the  magnificent  steamers  which  traverse  the  ocean. 
While  money  is  designated  a  circulating  medium, 
an  aid  to  commerce,  not  an  article  of  commerce,  yet 
banks  engage  in  commercial  transactions.  Banking 
IS  a  system  of  credits.     A  draft  bought  in  one  city 


192  Choosing  a  Lifework 

is  cashed  in  another,  perhaps  by  a  party  having  no 
connection  with  the  bank  in  either  city.  Credits 
are  negotiable  and  exchangeable.  Considering  the 
bulk  of  business  transacted,  but  little  money  changes 
hands.  Our  payment  of  the  twenty  million  dollars 
indemnity  to  the  Spanish  government  was  made  by 
exchange  of  credits.  A  clearing  house  is  an  estab- 
lishment where  credit  and  debit  balances  are  ad- 
justed. Money  is  bought  and  sold.  A  bank  of 
issue  barters  its  paper,  parting  with  it  for  a  compen- 
sation. It  is  a  sale  on  which  profits  are  expected  to 
be  realized.  Aside  from  discount  charged  on  paper 
issued,  there  is  a  deduction  from  par  value  on  paper 
bought.  And  while  paper  comes  into  circulation  as 
currency  through  a  commercial  process,  and  is  kept 
in  circulation  commercially,  the  gold  and  silver  back 
of  it,  on  which  it  rests  as  primary  money,  are  produced 
by  human  labor,like  every  other  article  of  commerce. 
As  bullion  it  is  sold  to  the  government  for  minting 
into  coin,  and  when  made  into  coin  it  comes  out  from 
the  national  treasury  through  purchase  by  the  indi- 
vidual. It  will  be  seen  that  commerce  is  the  very 
support  of  industry.  It  penetrates  to,  and  controls 
in,  every  avenue  of  labor.  Without  it  production 
would  be  nearly  paralyzed  and  our  wants  unsupplied. 
Commerce  is  complex  in  its  nature.  The  dealer 
must  know  how  to  buy  and  how  to  sell.  Many  ques- 
tions are  sure  to  arise  in  selecting  his  stock.  There 
will  be  the  quality  of  the  goods,  the  price  he  ought 
to  pay,  the  extent  of  the  demand  in  the  home  market. 


The  Creation  of  Values  193 

He  should  be  a  good  judge  of  the  articles  he  wishes 
to  purchase.  This  skill  it  is  not  always  easy  to  ac- 
quire, especially  if  the  stock  be  large  and  varied. 
A  long  and  painstaking  apprenticeship  is  a  necessity 
if  mistakes  are  to  be  avoided.  And  it  is  not  easy  to 
determine,  in  advance,  what  and  how  much  can  be 
sold.  The  merchant  is  very  liable  to  overstock,  es- 
pecially in  small  towns.  As  to  many  things,  much 
depends  on  the  character  of  the  season.  Will  the 
winter  be  cold  or  mild  ?  Will  summer  heat  directly 
follow  the  winter,  or  will  spring  intervene?  And 
fashion  is  as  fickle  as  the  winds.  The  novelties  of 
to-day  may  be  discarded  to-morrow.  It  is  said  that 
more  than  ninety  per  cent  of  the  merchants  make 
one  or  more  failures  in  business.  That  there  are 
risks  which  cannot  be  wholly  guarded  against  is 
evident;  and  these  risks,  to  a  large  extent,  inhere  in 
the  purchase  of  goods.  In  some  of  the  branches  of 
merchandising  there  are  more  risks  than  in  others. 
Goods  are  bought  to  be  sold.  People  will  not 
patronize  a  house  unless  they  have  confidence  in  it. 
Are  the  goods  reliable?  Are  they  what  they  are 
recommended  to  be?  Is  the  merchant  a  man  of 
strict  integrity  ?  And  then  a  salesman  should  under- 
stand human  nature.  Courteous,  accommodating, 
suave  in  his  manners,  neither  brusque  nor  soft, 
having  tact  to  approach  different  classes  of  people 
in  a  manner  that  will  please  them — this  is  necessary 
to  win  trade.  No  one  will  be  a  regular  customer 
of  a  house  where  conditions  are  not  agreeable. 


194  Choosing  a  Lifework 

It  is  unwise,  as  a  general  rule,  to  engage  in  busi- 
ness without  capital  nearly  equal  to  the  purchases 
you  must  make.  To  pay  interest  on  borrowed 
money  eats  up  the  profits  and  introduces  a  large 
element  of  risk.  The  men  who  fail  are  those  who 
cannot  pay  their  debts  on  time.  It  is  better  to  work 
on  a  salary  until  sufficient  capital  be  accumulated  to 
lift  you  above  large  hazards  which  pecuniary  indebt- 
edness is  sure  to  bring.  In  connection  with  this 
item  it  is  well  to  offer  a  caution  against  too  rapid 
expansion  of  business.  There  is  as  much  danger 
from  accumulation  of  indebtedness  as  from  begin- 
ning with  such  a  load  on  your  shoulders. 

Every  form  of  business  in  its  prosecution  should 
be  educational.  There  should  be  in  it  mental  stimu- 
lation and  a  development  of  power.  Large  mercan- 
tile interests,  if  they  receive  the  attention  they  need, 
must  tax  the  energies  of  the  mind.  To  have  every- 
thing in  hand;  superintend  the  employees;  know 
what  part  of  the  stock  is  selling  most  rapidly ;  keep 
everything  thoroughly  balanced;  inform  one's  self 
of  the  percentage  of  sales  of  the  different  parts  of 
the  stock ;  see  to  it  that  the  accounts  are  in  the  best 
condition ;  buy  wisely  and  shrewdly,  what  is  needed 
and  just  so  much  as  is  needed;  attend  to  all  bills, 
that  every  indebtedness  be  promptly  met — there  is 
enough  to  do  in  all  this  to  employ  every  moment  of 
time.  As  a  result  habits  of  attention  must  become 
fully  developed,  and  more  and  more  of  business  ca- 
pacity acquired. 


The  Creation  of  Values  195 

It  is  customary  to  divide  commercialists  into  two 
classes — wholesale  and  retail  dealers.  Countries 
widely  separated  carry  forward  extensive  exchanges. 
The  amount  increases  with  improvements  in  pro- 
duction and  the  wealth  of  the  people.  Also  the  in- 
creasing readiness  with  which  transactions  are  ef- 
fected— from  more  rapid  transit  on  land  and  sea, 
and  the  use  of  the  telegraph  for  information  and 
the  making  of  orders — tends  to  swell  the  amount 
of  business,  adding  also  an  element  of  safety.  As 
widely  separated  lands  draw  more  closely  together 
each  will  help  and  enrich  the  other.  Wholesale 
houses  are  established  in  great  centers  of  business. 
These  are  stocked  from  importations,  and  from  them 
retailers  are  supplied  who,  in  the  towns  all  over  the 
country,  provide  for  the  wants  of  consumers. 

From  the  foregoing  considerations  it  is  apparent 
that  commercial  industries  are  of  the  highest  im- 
portance. They  add  to  the  wealth  of  the  world  by 
saving  the  time  of  consumers,  supplying  at  the  least 
trouble  and  at  the  lowest  rate  that  which  is  needed. 

Dry  goods  merchants,  grocers,  hardware  dealers, 
druggists — those  who  handle  merchandise  of  differ- 
ent kinds — form  the  nucleus  of  all  our  villages  and 
cities.  People  gather  together  in  centers  where 
trade  has  special  facilities,  where  the  farmer  can 
readily  sell  his  produce  and  procure  what  he  needs 
in  return.  Commerce  joins  hands  with  agriculture 
and  the  mechanic  arts,  making  them  successful,  each 
of  the  three  stimulating  and  building  up  the  others. 


196  Choosing  a  Lifework 

In  commerce  there  is  room  for  the  widest  range 
of  talents.  There  are  problems  which  call  for  con- 
stant study.  The  merchant  should  be  a  man  of 
extensive  acquirements  in  practical  affairs.  He 
deals  with  interests  that  are  many-sided,  and  which 
are  subject  to  constant  variations.  He  has  to  do 
with  men  and  women  of  every  grade  of  intelligence 
and  ethical  views.  He  certainly  should  gain  exten- 
sive knowledge  of  life,  as  appearing  on  the  right  and 
the  wrong  sides.  Sharp-witted,  a  reader  of  char- 
acter, with  much  of  practical  wisdom,  he  should  be 
fitted  to  go  forward  as  a  leader  in  the  community. 

About  the  middle  of  the  present  century  the  people 
began  to  plan  for  the  organization  of  agricultural 
colleges.  Congress  became  interested  and  made 
appropriations  of  lands  for  the  support  of  the  same. 
In  this  much  wisdom  was  displayed.  Soon  mechan- 
ical departments  were  provided,  thus  widening  the 
range  of  industrial  education.  But  there  is  no  busi- 
ness pursuit  requiring  more  of  shrewdness,  demand- 
ing greater  mental  capacity,  than  commerce. 
Recently  it  has  been  proposed  to  found  colleges  of 
commerce;  not  commercial  colleges,  where  book- 
keeping and  penmanship  are  the  principal  branches 
taught,  but  colleges  for  the  study  of  the  facts  and 
laws  of  commerce.  A  man  may  be  thoroughly 
posted  in  commercial  arithmetic;  may  understand 
commercial  law ;  he  may  be  at  home  in  drawing  com- 
mercial paper;  he  may  be  a  good  bookkeeper  and 
write  an  elegant  hand,  but  still  be  an  utter  failure 


The  Creation  of  Values  197 

in  the  handling  of  commercial  interests.  Commer- 
cial colleges  train  the  student  principally  in  making 
an  intelligent  record  of  business  transactions.  In 
this  skill  may  be  gained  in  the  absence  of  qualifica- 
tions for  the  great  work  of  exchange.  To  import, 
or  to  buy  and  sell,  is  a  very  different  thing  from  the 
making  of  an  entry  in  a  ledger.  A  man  may  be  a 
good  accountant,  and  fit  for  nothing  else.  But  when 
we  remember  that  the  productions  of  the  earth  vary 
because  of  climate;  that  commerce  is  carried  for- 
ward both  by  water  and  by  land ;  that  demand  and 
supply  enter  as  factors  into  the  problems  of  trade; 
that  the  demand  varies  with  the  civilization  of  the 
people,  their  pecuniary  condition,  their  tastes,  and 
the  fashions  that  are  instituted ;  that  the  shape  and 
position  of  the  American  continent  must  be  con- 
sidered in  judging  of  the  natural  trend  of  commer- 
cial affairs;  that  the  oceans  on  the  two  sides  of  us 
must  modify  trade;  that  the  civilization  of  Europe 
is  unlike  that  of  Asia ;  that  the  products  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Atlantic  differ  in  almost  every  particular 
from  the  products  west  of  the  Pacific;  that  as  the 
Suez  Canal  has  opened  up  a  highway  of  commerce 
in  the  East,  so  the  Panama  or  Nicaragua  Canal  will 
greatly  modify  trade  between  our  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  coasts  and  the  greater  part  of  the  Eastern 
world;  that  the  United  States  is  more  and  more 
finding  a  market  for  her  productions  in  other  lands 
— when  we  remember  that  the  questions  that  arise 
and  the  interests  to  be  considered  are  so  many  and 


198  Choosing  a  Lifework 

almost  infinitely  varied,  including  the  great  problems 
of  the  currency  and  tariff — there  surely  is  need  of  a 
wide  and  thorough  study  of  the  principles  of  trade, 
and  of  the  relations  which  reach  out  to  all  countries 
with  which  we  have  dealings.  Indeed,  we  come 
into  the  range  of  the  highest  statesmanship.  Com- 
merce and  the  right  policy  of  government  are  in 
closest  touch  with  each  other.  He  who  is  ambitious 
to  make  a  distinguished  record  during  his  three- 
score and  ten  years  of  life  will  here  find  a  field  broad 
enough  for  all  the  energies,  mental  and  physical, 
with  which  God  has  endowed  him. 


Winning  Success  199 


CHAPTER  XV 
Winning  Success 

Society  is  like  the  vault  of  the  sky  where  stars 
of  varying  magnitudes  appear  in  the  midst  of  un- 
illuminated  space.  Unlike  the  stars,  the  illumi- 
nating power  does  not  depend  on  nearness  of  view, 
but  on  the  life  and  work  of  the  men  and  women  who 
shine  with  such  diverse  radiance.  The  number  of 
persons  who  rise  to  positions  of  eminence,  gaining 
influence  and  power,  is  small  compared  with  the 
entire  people  of  these  lands.  Why  this  striking  dis- 
parity ?  Some  are  rich,  others  poor ;  some  are  edu- 
cated, others  uneducated;  some  are  famous,  others 
scarcely  known  during  life  and  soon  forgotten  when 
death  overtakes  them. 

Success  is  personal;  it  must  be  achieved  by  the 
individual.  It  can  neither  be  imparted  nor  inherited ; 
it  must  be  wrought  out.  From  father  to  the  son 
wealth  may  descend,  but  the  son  does  not  win  it. 
There  is  heredity  of  mental  traits,  of  the  blood  of  an- 
cestry, of  an  honorable  or  dishonorable  family  name. 
What  another  does  for  me  is  his  act,  not  mine.  I 
am  the  recipient,  he  the  giver.  However  generous 
and  active  in  our  behalf  a  friend  may  be,  there  is 
much  that  he  cannot  do ;  that  which  is  best  he  cannot 
do  for  us ;  if  done  at  all,  it  must  be  the  work  of  our 
own  life. 


200  Choosing  a  Lifework 

It  is  well  for  us  to  analyze  the  forces  which  make 
history  so  checkered.  Whatever  path  is  chosen  suc- 
cess can  be  won  only  by  personal  effort ;  and  in  the 
putting  forth  of  effort  it  is  purely  a  psychological 
energy  that  is  awakened.  What  we  do  depends  on 
what  we  are,  and  we  have  become  what  we  are  in 
or  by  the  doing.  It  is  a  mental  problem,  not  a  bodily 
equipment. 

It  was  a  bitter  war  that  was  being  waged  between 
Carthage  and  Rome.  These  two  great  govern- 
ments faced  each  other  across  the  Mediterranean, 
on  whose  shores  so  much  of  history  has  been  en- 
acted. The  Carthaginian  general,  Hamilcar,  at  a 
trying  hour  in  the  history  of  his  country  took  his  son 
Hannibal,  then  but  nine  years  old,  and  placing  the 
hand  of  the  boy  on  the  sacrificial  offering,  *'made  him 
swear  eternal  enmity  to  the  Romans."  This  oath 
went  down  into  the  very  depths  of  the  boy's  soul. 
It  was  a  vow  to  fight  the  traditional  enemy  of  his 
country  even  to  the  last  hour  of  his  life.  This  one 
object  was  therefore  constantly  before  him;  one  mo- 
tive stirred  his  breast ;  to  humble  Rome  he  was  ready 
to  endure  any  hardships  and  make  any  sacrifices. 
By  nature  a  great  military  genius,  all  the  powers  of 
his  being  were  fired  into  action  by  the  vow  he  had 
taken  and  his  intense  hatred  of  the  Roman  govern- 
ment. The  leading  of  his  army  across  the  Alps  is 
but  a  single  illustration  of  the  determination  and 
spirit  with  which  his  campaigns  were  prosecuted. 
It  was  his  indomitable  will,  aroused  and  sustained 


Winning  Success  201 

by  the  intense  spirit  of  the  pledge  he  had  given  on 
the  altar  before  which  he  had  kneeled,  which  brought 
out  all  the  powers  of  his  intellectual  life.  Had  Car- 
thage stood  by  him  with  the  loyalty  she  should  have 
displayed,  his  early  victories  would  have  been  a 
prophecy  of  later  triumphs  which  would  have  been 
won  over  his  country's  foes.  Though  at  last  over- 
come, his  great  military  deeds  adorn  the  pages  of 
history,  giving  undying  luster  to  the  age  in  which 
he  lived.  Great  deeds  spring  from  a  life  which  is 
controlled  by  some  mighty  purpose. 

Alexander  won  his  title  of  "the  Great''  by  his 
'Vaulting  ambition"  to  be  a  world  conqueror.  When 
his  father,  Philip  of  Macedon,  died  war  had  been 
declared  against  Persia.  Alexander,  not  yet  twenty 
years  old,  succeeded  to  the  throne  and  entered  upon 
a  campaign  in  the  East  with  wonderful  spirit  and 
valor.  His  achievements  during  his  brief  career 
were  so  brilliant  as  to  make  his  name  the  most  re- 
nowned of  all  the  generals  of  antiquity.  Possessed 
of  remarkable  genius,  he  entered  into  the  struggles 
of  war  with  an  intense  love  for  military  affairs.  He 
seems  to  have  been  filled  only  with  the  spirit  of  con- 
quest. When  at  sixteen,  hearing  of  Philip's  vic- 
tories, he  exclaimed,  "My  father  will  leave  me 
nothing  to  do."  And  when  after  a  series  of  distin- 
guished campaigns  the  East  had  come  under  his  yoke 
he  is  said  to  have  wept  because  there  were  no  other 
worlds  to  conquer.  His  principle  was,  "Might 
makes  right."     When  dying,  being  asked  to  whom 


202  Choosing  a  Lifework 

he  bequeathed  his  kingdom,  he  repHed,  *To  the 
strongest."  Genius  alone  does  not  triumph;  it  is 
only  when  it  is  stirred  to  action. 

This  is  illustrated  in  the  life  of  Napoleon,  whose 
ambition,  like  that  of  Alexander,  was  enforced  by 
a  tremendous  energy  of  execution.  Thousands  of 
men  have  possessed  unusual  intellectual  faculties 
who  yet  have  made  no  impression  on  the  world  be- 
cause the  heart  was  passive  and  the  will  unmoved. 
Ambition,  surely,  is  not  always  ethically  faultless, 
but  it  is  a  force  of  tremendous  power. 

On  a  higher  ethical  plan  was  the  might  which 
made  General  Ulysses  S.  Grant  the  hero  of  the  civil 
war.  The  biographer  tells  us  that  he  was  a  man 
whom  "nothing  could  turn  from  a  purpose."  Having 
with  calm  deliberation  formed  his  plan  of  operation, 
nothing  was  allowed  to  check  his  movements.  His 
knees  did  not  tremble;  he  was  not  assailed  by  mis- 
givings; he  did  not  look  to  the  right  or  to  the  left; 
all  his  energies  were  thrown  into  the  work  of  exe- 
cution. And  back  of  the  initial  point  of  action 
was  a  patriotism  almost  divine.  When  he  entered 
the  army  he  was  willing  to  occupy  the  lowest  place 
in  order  to  get  an  opportunity  to  serve  his  country. 
Despite  the  unfriendly  criticisms  of  the  men  who 
sought  official  positions,  his  patriotic  devotion,  his 
steady  step,  his  unyielding  purpose,  made  him  the 
man  of  the  hour.  President  Lincoln  found  no  rest 
for  his  soul  till  Grant  broke  through  all  obstacles, 
forging  his  way  to  the  front.     The  President  found 


Winning  Success  203 

what  Diogenes  was  looking  for — sl  man;  a  man 
whose  work  Hves  on  and  will  be  immortal  because 
it  was  true  to  right  and  God,  putting  country  before 
all  personal  ambitions  and  interests. 

There  was  never  a  more  unpromising  candidate 
for  public  favor  as  a  speaker  than  Demosthenes, 
and  no  one  else  has  risen  to  so  great  distinction  as  he 
in  the  influence  exerted  over  an  audience  and  the 
striking  display  of  oratorical  gifts.  His  success  was 
the  result  of  a  wise  and  indomitable  pursuit  of  ora- 
torical power.  His  method  is  instructive.  It  was 
the  training  of  the  voice  with  the  training  of  the 
mind.  Correct  vocal  enunciation  and  fitting  action 
were  sought,  but  with  a  realization  that  much  more 
than  this  was  needed.  In  style  he  most  carefully 
studied  Thucydides,  copying,  many  times  over,  the 
terse  orations  found  in  his  works.  Pericles,  the 
greatest  of  the  Athenian  statesmen  and  a  brilliant 
orator,  he  made  *'his  model  in  action  and  delivery." 
The  student  has  time  and  again  turned  to  that  page 
in  history  where  his  zeal  and  indomitable  activities 
are  portrayed.  Keenly  sensitive  to  the  ridicule  with 
which  his  stammering  utterances  and  ungraceful 
gestures  were  received,  his  entire  nature  was  aroused, 
and  everything  else  gave  way  before  his  inflexible 
purpose  to  overcome  these  defects  and  adorn  the 
Grecian  platform.  His  biographer  tells  us  that  he 
adopted  the  most  heroic  means  to  cure  his  defects. 
"To  overcome  his  stammering  he  spoke  with  pebbles 
in  his  mouth;  to  become  long-winded  he  practiced 


204  Choosing  a  Lifework 

running  up  hill;  and  to  accustom  himself  to  the 
turbulence  of  a  noisy  assembly  of  the  people  he  de- 
claimed on  the  seashore.  In  a  subterranean  study 
he  made  strenuous  efforts  to  perfect  his  voice  and 
gain  grace  of  action."  No  more  forcible  lesson  can 
be  learned  by  any  student  who  would  achieve  great 
things  than  that  which  Demosthenes  has  taught  us. 
Everything  gives  way  before  a  will  that  does  not 
yield,  a  will  that  chooses  intelligently  and  executes 
unfalteringly. 

Western  philosophy  has  been  put  into  three  peri- 
ods :  the  Socratic,  the  pre-Socratic  and  the  post-So- 
cratic.  Greece  has  never  been  crowned  with  greater 
glory  than  that  with  which  the  Socratic  school 
has  adorned  her  brow.  Lustrous  as  her  history  has 
been,  brilliant  beyond  all  other  lands  on  which  the 
sun  has  shone,  she  is  best  known  and  stands  highest 
in  her  achievements  because  of  the  profound  philo- 
sophic spirit  with  which  she  penetrated  into  the  deep 
problems  of  being;  and  of  all  these  schools  the  So- 
cratic was  transcendently  preeminent.  There  were 
men,  such  as  Plato  and  Aristotle,  who  were  not  less 
acute  and  logical  as  thinkers,  not  less  scholarly,  and 
who  did  much  more  to  systematize  principles 
evolved  than  Socrates;  and  yet  he  stands  out  as 
the  great  head  and  leader  of  Western  philosophy. 
Why  is  his  name  most  honored  of  all  the  philosophic 
thinkers  of  the  past?  Because  he  planted  himself 
on  truth  as  an  unchangeable  and  eternal  verity. 
Sophistry  had  demoralized  the  thinking  of  society 


Winning  Success  205 

—sophistry,  as  Ritter  expresses  it,  "which  was 
based  on  the  monstrous  opinion  that  for  man  there 
is  no  truth  but  that  he  may  play  with  its  shadow  as 
he  will ;  that  he  is  the  wisest  of  men  who,  despairing 
utterly  of  its  possibility,  is  adroit  enough  to  conceal 
from  others  his  own  incapacity  and  ignorance,  and 
yet  to  dazzle  them  by  an  ingenious  display  of  arti- 
fice and  forms.  From  this  abyss  of  vanity  and 
ignorance  there  was  but  one  escape,  a  strong  hold 
must  be  taken  of  what  is  fixed  and  indestructible  in 
man:  his  moral  convictions."  This  Socrates  did, 
and  he  did  it  with  success.  He  left  no  written  code 
of  philosophy,  but  he  wrought  so  completely  into 
society  his  spirit  of  belief  in  and  reverence  for  truth 
as  to  prepare  the  way  for  much  of  that  which  is 
stable  and  conquering  in  the  ages  which  have  fol- 
lowed. It  was  not  what  he  taught  as  a  finality  so 
much  as  his  faith  in  God  and  truth,  finding  a  basis 
for  morals,  a  groundwork  of  equity,  and  the  land- 
marks of  science  in  the  physical  and  spiritual  world, 
that  made  his  teachings  and  life  a  power  in  the  ages. 
A  thousand  men,  though  sincere  and  of  acute  intel- 
lect, but  of  frivolous  spirit,  unanchored,  and  drifting 
with  the  tide,  could  not,  combined,  accomplish  for 
the  world  what  Socrates  achieved  as  he  opened  the 
eyes  of  the  people  to  behold  the  glories  which  do 
not  fade  away  through  the  transitions  of  time. 

There  is  might  in  a  great  idea,  an  idea  that  takes 
possession  of  the  entire  mental  life.  The  intellect 
does  not  work  alone.     It  stirs  the  sensibilities  which 


2o6  Choosing  a  Lifework 

act  upon  the  will.  Thought  that  is  cold  never 
arouses  the  soul,  either  of  the  thinker  or  of  him  who 
should  be  influenced  thereby.  Indeed,  there  cannot 
be  isolated  thought  or  feeling  or  willing.  They  co- 
operate, and  together  bring  forth  results.  Back  of 
grand  achievements  is  mind  glowing  with  emotions, 
throbbing  with  ideas,  and  lifting  an  arm  of  power 
for  mighty  execution  under  the  guidance  of  intelli- 
gence. It  is  true  t;hat  ideas  make  history.  It  was 
the  clear  mental  vision  and  predominating  power 
of  an  idea  that  fired  the  soul  of  a  man — whom  the 
people  regarded  as  a  fanatic — that  brought  the 
Western  Continent  out  to  the  gaze  of  the  nations  of 
the  earth.  Christopher  Columbus  was  born  in 
penury.  His  ancestors,  for  many  generations,  were 
in  humble  circumstances,  and  he  himself  entered  in 
his  boyhood  upon  a  life  of  toil.  He  had  no  wealthy 
or  influential  relatives,  no  "friend  at  court"  to  lift 
him  out  of  the  drudgery  of  menial  pursuits.  Can 
such  a  man  discover  a  continent,  writing  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  pages  of  history?  In  the  midst  of 
daily  toil  a  great  world  problem  took  possession  of 
his  soul.  A  careful  student  of  nautical  questions, 
he  became  convinced  that  India,  which  was  east, 
could  be  reached  by  sailing  westward.  His  theories 
received  no  support  from  those  who  were  regarded 
as  the  most  intelligent  classes;  he  was  looked  upon 
as  a  dreamer.  Yet  his  faith  was  not  shaken.  He 
visited  Portugal,  a  country  at  that  time  famous  in 
navigation  and  commerce,  but  the  court  treated  him 


Winning  Success  507 

with  incredulity  and  disrespect.  He  then  visited 
Spain,  seeking  support  for  his  project,  but  his 
schemes  were  regarded  as  visionary.  For  seven  long 
years  he  tarried  there,  refusing  to  yield  to  the  dis- 
couragements through  which  no  light  was  shining, 
till  finally  Queen  Isabella  began  to  look  with  favor 
on  his  scheme  and  offered  her  jewels  to  meet  the 
expense  of  his  proposed  expedition.  And. though 
Columbus  did  not  find  India,  he  discovered  America  ; 
he  achieved  immensely  more  than  he  expected  to 
accomplish.  It  was  a  mighty  idea  working  in  his 
brain;  a  grand  conception  of  truth  enlisting  all  the 
energies  of  his  nature.  It  was  thought  on  fire,  in- 
telligently stimulating  the  will  and  keeping  it  steady 
to  the  one  purpose  which  had  grown  up  in  his  mental 
life. 

When  Saul  of  Tarsus  gave  heed  to  the  voice  which 
arrested  his  progress  while  on  his  way  to  Damascus, 
abandoning  his  position  in  the  Sanhedrim  and  mak- 
ing common  cause  with  the  disciples  of  the  lowly 
Nazarene,  there  must  have  been  but  one  opinion 
as  to  the  effect  of  this  movement  on  the  future  of  his 
life.  Though  but  a  young  man,  he  had  become  a 
leader  in  Jewish  politics.  For  no  one  were  there 
brighter  prospects;  he  seemed  destined  to  achieve 
the  highest  honors  in  the  state.  But  he  breaks  away 
from  all  influential  associations ;  puts  himself  beyond 
the  reach  of  personal  emoluments;  arrays  against 
himself  all  the  power  of  the  Jewish  government, 
making  himself  an  object  of  persecution  and  of  the 


2o8  Choosing  a  Lifework 

bitterest  hatred  of  the  ruHng  classes.  Will  he  not 
sink  into  oblivion,  his  very  name  perishing  from  the 
earth  ?  Nearly  nineteen  centuries  have  passed  since 
that  midday  scene  which  changed  the  whole  tenor 
of  his  life,  and  to-day  there  is  no  name  better  known 
than  his,  no  career  portrayed  by  the  historian  on 
which  men  gaze  with  so  much  admiration  as  that 
of  the  apostle  Paul.  Why  is  this?  It  will  not  be 
forgotten  that  he  was  ambitious  for  personal  excel- 
lence. He  was  a  student;  he  had  graduated  from 
the  leading  college  in  Jerusalem.  Whatever  he  did 
was  done  with  spirit,  with  an  enthusiasm  which  it 
was  not  easy  to  resist.  He  was  logical  as  a  thinker 
and  doer.  His  was  a  mind  of  unusual  versatility 
and  capacity.  But  we  get  the  keynote  of  his  extra- 
ordinary life  when  he  says,  ''Woe  is  unto  me  if  I 
preach  not  the  Gospel."  There  ruled  in  his  breast 
the  most  profound  convictions  of  duty.  He  never 
raised  the  question  of  policy;  he  never  said,  Which 
would  I  better  do  ?  but.  This  I  must  do,  at  the  peril 
of  the  soul.  With  such  a  man  there  could  be  no 
trifling,  no  wavering,  no  resort  to  selfish  expedients. 
It  was  duty  before  everything  else,  duty  in  the  place 
of  everything  else ;  and  like  a  mighty  Niagara,  in  a 
channel  dug  out  by  his  own  life,  his  onward  move- 
ments were  irresistible. 
/"  In  nothing  is  there  greater  potency  than  in  a 
/  consciousness  of  duty  which  allows  of  no  prevari- 
[  cation.  He  who  does  not  see  clearly,  feel  deeply, 
\^  and  will  mightily  must  fail  of  reaching  the  largest 


Winning  Success  209 

success.  Paul  counted  not  his  life,  even,  dear  unto 
him  that  he  might  accomplish  his  course  and  the  min- 
istry which  he  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  So  eager 
was  he  for  the  salvation  of  the  Jews  who  were  re- 
jecting the  Gospel  which  he  was  preaching  that,  he 
tells  us,  he  could  wish  himself  accursed  from  Christ 
for  hissbrethren,  his  kinsmen  according  to  the  flesh. 
Who  can  measure  the  majesty  of  such  a  life  or  com- 
pute its  power  ?  With  a  cultivated  intellect,  a  heart 
all  aftame  with  love  for  the  race,  a  spirit  of  personal 
sacrifice  which  was  ready  to  surrender  everything 
to  the  claims  of  personal  duty,  success  must  be  won. 
Paul  did  not  become  a  millionaire,  and  he  died  a 
martyr's  death,  but  he  lives  in  history;  he  lives  in 
the  mightiest  movement  that  has  ever  stirred  the 
race;  he  lives  in  the  honor  and  affections  of  unnum- 
bered human  beings  who  prize  right  and  duty  and 
truth. 

As  Martin  Luther  crawled  on  his  knees  up  Pilate's 
Staircase  in  Rome  the  voice  that  whispered  in  his 
soul,  *The  just  shall  live  by  faith,''  was  a  prophecy 
of  events  and  struggles  which  he  then  but  little 
understood.  When  at  midday  of  the  31st  of  October, 
15 17,  he  nailed  to  the  door  of  the  church  in  Witten- 
berg his  ninety-five  theses  against  indulgences  it  was 
a  bold  act,  putting  him  in  peril,  yet  a  blow  in  con- 
demnation of  corruption  in  the  Church  which  has 
rung  through  all  these  ages.  As  Luther  stands 
before  the  Diet  at  Worms,  and  in  that  august  pres- 
ence is  exhorted  to  retract  his  teachings,  his  famous 


210  Choosing  a  Lifework 

declaration,  "Here  I  stand.  I  can  do  no  other ;  may- 
God  help  me.  Amen/'  reveals  to  us  the  marvelous 
growth  of  that  faith  which  was  but  incipient  when 
he  so  blindly  ascended  the  staircase  in  the  Eternal 
City.  Becoming  convinced  that  Rome  was  in  error 
in  her  teachings  and  corrupt  in  her  practices,  con- 
travening God's  word  and  undermining  the  Gospel 
of  Christ,  single-handed  he  combated  her  misdoings 
and  sought  to  overthrow  her  power.  To  the  world 
it  seemed  an  unequal  struggle.  The  state  refused 
him  support;  the  Church  which  controlled  the  state 
and  ruled  society  lifted  her  mighty  arm  to  crush 
him.  Wealth,  learning,  and  political  influence  were 
all  arrayed  against  him ;  yet,  standing  like  a  mighty 
rock,  the  waves  could  not  sweep  him  from  the  foun- 
dation of  truth  on  which  he  stood.  He  was  more 
than  a  rock  assailed  by  all  the  powers  of  the  Church ; 
he  was  himself  an  assaulting  power  hurling  truth 
against  the  bulwarks  of  a  false  faith  and  corrupt  life. 
Nothing  in  history  is  more  wonderful  than  the 
Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The  papacy 
received  a  blow  from  which  it  has  never  recovered. 
All  the  ages  following  will  be  better  and  richer  be- 
cause of  Luther's  life.  Whence  that  matchless 
power  he  exerted?  He  clearly  saw,  and  seized 
upon,  truth,  and  under  a  conviction  of  duty  that 
could  not  be  weakened  his  faith  rose  to  that  height 
which  scorned  personal  interest  and  saw  victory 
gleaming  in  the  future,  even  should  life  be  laid  on 
the  altar  of  sacrifice.     With  him  faith  and  works 


Winning  Success  211 

clasped  hands — faith  unshaken,  and  works  which 
engaged  every  power  of  his  being. 

When  Victoria  became  queen  she  said,  ''I  will  be 
good;''  and  however  distinguished  her  reign  has 
been,  she  is  loved  and  honored  as  a  woman  far  more 
than  as  the  ruler  of  a  mighty  empire.  Florence 
Nightingale,  though  born  to  wealth  and  cradled  in 
the  lap  of  luxury,  voluntarily  turned  away  from  all 
the  allurements  of  personal  indulgence,  her  heart 
glowing  with  a  desire  to  bless  humanity.  At  much 
of  sacrifice  she  prepared  herself  for  philanthropic 
work,  and  at  the  call  of  the  British  government 
went  at  the  head  of  a  band  of  nurses  to  the  Crimea  to 
care  for  the  sick  and  the  wounded  during  the  awful 
days  of  that  terrible  war,  and  her  praises  are  now 
sung  in  all  lands.  Her  fame  will  be  immortal. 
Elizabeth  Fry,  without  protection,  could  go  un- 
harmed into  jails  and  prisons  among  the  most 
abandoned  criminals,  and  even  the  insane.  In- 
stinctively these  wretched  men  turned  to  her  as  a 
friend;  awed  and  won  by  her  pure  life  and  loving 
heart.  It  was  womanhood  without  a  taint,  woman- 
hood in  which  there  was  no  trace  of  selfishness;  a 
womanhood  peerless  in  the  majesty  that  was  so 
absolutely  human  as  to  be  almost  divine. 

To  the  young  people  who  may  read  these  words 
we  are  authorized  to  say  that  success  is  before  you, 
but  it  must  be  won ;  it  cannot  be  passively  inherited. 
Mentally  registering  a  vow  to  train  all  your  intellec- 
tual faculties  to  the  highest  state  of  energy  and 


212  Choosing  a  Lifework 

action ;  with  a  manhood,  a  womanhood,  true  to  right 
and  humanity;  choosing  your  field  of  effort  with  a 
determination  which  admits  of  no  wavering;  put- 
ting duty  before  every  personal  good;  cherishing  a 
righteous  ambition  to  gain  that  which  is  best  in  the 
sphere  in  which  you  labor;  planting  your  feet  im- 
movably on  the  truth,  with  positive  and  stirring 
convictions  in  regard  to  the  aims  and  work  of  life; 
with  ardor  of  spirit,  valor  in  the  doing,  faith  in  the 
favorable  outcome,  and  perseverance  in  the  execu- 
tion of  every  plan,  you  cannot  wholly  fail.  Even 
with  only  moderate  talents  you  will  rise  above  the 
plane  on  which  the  majority  of  men  and  women 
live.  You  may  be  stars  of  the  first  magnitude;  if 
not  strictly  this,  you  surely  will  emit  light  for  which 
society  will  bless  you,  and  in  such  a  life  the  world 
will  become  your  debtor. 


Life's  Supreme  Activities  213 


CHAPTER  XVI 
Life's  Supreme  Activities 

The  activities  which  make  up  life  vary  in  kind 
and  value.  Some  have  their  end  in  our  physical 
being,  some  in  the  mental,  and  others  in  the  moral. 
The  results  sought  to  be  reached  belong,  a  part  of 
them,  to  time,  others  to  eternity.  In  the  preceding 
chapters  we*  have  discussed,  principally,  the  profes- 
sions and  other  occupations  by  which  a  livelihood 
is  gained,  most  of  them  relating  to  temporal  inter- 
ests. Under  the  divine  plan  this  world  makes  de- 
mands on  the  energies  of  our  entire  life.  He  who 
should  discard  these  claims,  thinl^mg  only  of  the 
great  realities  that  belong  to  the  eternal  future,  is 
surely  guilty  of  folly.  Paul,  in  writing  to  Timothy,  | 
says,  ''If  any  provideth  not  for  his  own,  and  spe- J» 
cially  his  own  household,  he  hath  denied  the  faith,] 
and  is  worse  than  an  infidel." 

The  first  wants  of  a  human  being  are  physical. 
Food,  clothing,  and  shelter  must  be  provided.  Par- 
ents are  under  solemn  obligations  to  meet  these  de- 
mands. It  is  evident  that  the  greater  part  of  the 
time  of  a  large  majority  of  the  people  must  be  de- 
voted to  secular  interests.  And  in  connection  with 
physical  support  there  must  be  the  training  of  the 
mind.  And  surely  there  is  not  too  much  wealth  or 
scholarship  in  the  world.     It  would  be  well  if  the 


214  Choosing  a  Lifework 

hum  of  machinery  were  more  generally  heard  in 
lands  where  industry  has  not  as  yet  wrought  out 
large  results.     The  world  will  more  fully  accomplish     ^ 
its  purpose  when  intellectual  power  is  more  widely/ 
developed,  when  wealth  is  more  nearly  universal, 
when  the  industries  of  the  race  engage  the  powers  \ 
of  every  human  being. 

But  there  are  other  interests  than  these,  interests 
of  greater  moment,  which  cannot  be  disregarded 
without  fatal  results.  Man  has  a  spiritual  nature 
which  must  receive  attention,  or  life's  mission  is  a 
failure.  While  we  exhort  every  young  man  and 
woman  to  foster  a  spirit  of  personal  ambition,  to 
strive  for  mental  greatness,  seeking  the  best  in  the 
things  of  this  world,  we  warn  them  against  the  folly 
of  making  earthly  good  the  sole  object  of  labor.    \ 

First.  We  have  the  present  because  there  is  a 
future.  The  years  of  our  sojourn  on  the  earth  are 
only  a  briqf  part  of  our  existence,  and  are  given  to 
us  because  of  an  endless  hereafter.  While  we  must 
care  for  the  life  which  belongs  to  time  no  act  re- 
lating thereto  should  be  considered  final,  but  only 
as  serving  a  temporal  purpose.  This  world  is 
of  use  to  us  simply  as  a  place  and  time  for  prepara- 
tion for  the  world  beyond.  We  have  entered  on  a 
journey  the  terminus  of  which  is  at  the  grave.  The 
land  we  shall  then  enter  is  one  of  light  or  darkness, 
of  joy  or  sorrow,  depending  on  the  character  we 
form  here,  our  loyalty  or  disloyalty  to  the  divine 
government. 


Life's  Supreme  Activities  215 

Second.     To  disregard  the  purpose  of  our  being, 
to   concern   ourselves  only  with   the   comfort   and 
luxury  of  the  journey  through  time — no  thought  for 
the  world  we  are  so  soon  to  enter — must  be  con- 
sidered insanity  of  the  most  alarming  kind.     To 
visit  a  foreign  country  for  the  transaction  of  busi- 
ness of  great  importance,  and  yet  make  preparations 
not  for  the  successful  issue  of  the  business,   but   ^ 
merely  for  the  trip,  would  make  us  the  object  of/ 
universal  scorn.     Whatever  may  come  to  us  in  the 
present,   of  happiness  or  unhappiness,   he  only  is 
wise  who  makes  provision  for  the  endless  future. 
The  Saviour's  injunction  covers  the  whole  ground : 
"Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  upon  earth,  \ 
.  .  .  but  lay  up  for  yourselves  treasures  in  heaven,  j 
where  neither  moth  nor  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where 
thieves  do  not  break  through  nor  steal.''     At  death 
we  part  with  all  that  belongs  to  this* earth;  we  save 
only  the  treasures  which  are  in  heaven. 

Third.     No  life  can,  in  the  fullest  sense,  be  suc- 
cessful without  the  acquisition  of  spiritual  posses-] 
sions.     There  is  success  which  is  a  failure.     Suc- 
cessful gaining  of  riches  by  sacrifice  of  health  is  part-  ] 
ing  with  the  greater  for  the  lesser.     Political  dis- 
tinction by  dishonest  means  is  giving  up  that  which  J 
is  above  price  for  temporal  honor.     To  concentrate 
all  the  forces  of  the  life  on  worldly  interests,  thereby 
making  no  provision  for  eternal  things,  may  insure 
wealth    that    is    for    a    day,    but    endless    poverty 
after  death.     Much  of  that  which  is  sought  for  is 


2i6  Choosing  a  Lifework 

purchased  at  a  ruinous  price,  and  is  a  badge  of  folly 
rather  than  of  wisdom.     The  spiritual  life  is  above 
that    which    is    mental — far    above   that    which    is  I 
physical — and  its  development  and  enriching  is  the 
supreme   end   of   our   creation.     This   is   not,   like 
other  interests,  a  partial  good.     No  one  can  success- 
fully prosecute  law  and  medicine,  teaching  and  the 
ministry,  and  the  different  industrial  pursuits  all  at 
.the  same  time;  but  he  can  and  should  be  a  Christian, 
daily  becoming  more  Christlike  whatever  temporal 
pursuits  may  engage  his  powers.     The  spiritual  is 
universal;  it  is  for  all  men  at  all  times,  whatever 
special  calling  is  followed.     A  lawyer  who  is  not  a 
Christian  belittles  his  nature  by  discarding  the  very 
qualities  which  perfect  humanity.     An  agriculturist 
may  extend  his  possessions  till  his  farms  are  almost 
innumerable,  but  his  highest  manhood  is  obtained  \ 
only  by  gathering  within  himself  those  riches  which  ^ 
come  from  the  consecration  of  the  soul  to  Christ. 
Nothing  can  be  a  substitute  for  the  development  of 
that  which  is  spiritual.  Wealth  is  not  to  be  despised, 
but  it  is  an  outer  possession,   not  an   inner  life. 
Scholarship  has  great  value,  but  alone  It  does  not  \ 
make  character ;  it  is  a  treasure  of  the  intellect  only,     ^ 
while  the  heart  needs  purifying  and  the  will  to  be  I 
brought  under  righteous  control.     The  honors  of 
the  world  are  grateful  to  the  spirit,  but  they  are  the 
breath  that  fans  the  brow,  not  the  waters  of  life  in 
which  the  soul  may  slake  its  thirst.     Ambition  is  an 
inspiration  to  action,  calling  forth  our  powers  and 


Life's  Supreme  Activities  217 

leading  to  greater  achievements  than  would  other- 
wise be  made;  but  death  palsies  the  mightiest  arm 
and  blights  the  brightest  hopes.  He  that  drinks  of 
the  water  of  life,  the  Saviour  tells  us,  will  never  die. 
When  the  end  of  earthly  joys  is  reached  it  is  but  the 
passing  through  the  shadows  into  the  morning  of  a 
new  and  most  glorious  day. 

It  is  to  be  presumed  that  the  greater  num- 
ber of  young  men  and  women  who  read  this  book 
have  already  commenced  a  Christian  life.  The 
purpose  of  this  chapter  is  not  so  much  to  discuss 
the  need  of  religious  experience  as  of  religious  work. 
This  has  very  largely  been  the  practical  attitude  of 
the  Church:  that  we  need  a  ministry  to  do  the  re- 
ligious work,  and  that  the  laity  must  furnish  the 
ministry  with  pecuniary  support.  In  the  hard  and 
fast  line  thus  drawn  the  principle  is  vicious.  That 
Christ  intended  that  there  should  be  a  special  class 
set  apart  for  the  preaching  of  his  Gospel  no  one  can 
doubt;  but  that  upon  the  remainder  of  the  Church 
no  responsibility  should  rest  for  direct  religious  ac- 
tivity is  a  theory  that  narrows  and  weakens  religious 
forces  to  a  lamentable  extent.  Something  more  has 
always  been  needed  for  the  greatest  efficiency  of  our 
laymen  than  the  prayer  meeting  and  class  or  confer- 
ence meeting.  After  a  long  time  the  Sunday  school 
was  instituted,  and  it  has  performed  a  distinct  and 
important  service.  But  with  this  the  whole  field 
was  not  cultivated.  Some  time  ago  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  was  organized,   first  in  the 


2i8  Choosing  a  Lifework: 

cities,  and  then  in  the  various  colleges  of  the  country, 
and  young  men  gave  more  or  less  of  their  time  to 
humanitarian  and  religious  work.  At  a  still  later 
period  the  Churches  came  to  feel  that  they  were  not 
employing  their  energies  to  the  extent  the  condition 
of  these  lands  required  for  saving  the  young,  and 
the  Christian  Endeavor,  the  Epworth  League,'  and 
the  Baptist  Young  People's  Union  were  instituted 
as  a  special  arm  of  religious  power.  This  move- 
ment cannot  be  too  highly  commended.  He  who 
comes  to  the  problem  of  the  evangelization  of  the  \ 
world  with  unprejudiced  convictions  can  but  be  con- 
vinced that  the  Church  has  been  sadly  derelict  in 
the  organization  of  her  forces  for  saving  the  people. 
When  the  country  becomes  involved  in  war  we  make 
a  call  for  the  young  men.  They  have  physical 
strength ;  they  have  endurance ;  they  have  fewer  en- 
tanglements to  keep  them  at  home.  Can  the  Church 
spare  the  services  of  her  young  people,  in  any  . 
rational  scheme  for  extending  the  kingdom  of 
Christ,  any  more  than  the  government  when  national 
interests  are  in  peril?  What  special  reasons  are 
there  for  organizing  the  young  people  for  Christian 
work  ? 

First.  Because  the  whole  is  greater  and  mightier  \ 
than  a  part.  Until  these  organizations  were  formed 
there  was  no  place  for  the  young  people  to  labor  to 
any  large  extent.  They  could  go  forth  individually 
to  find  and  rescue  the  perishing,  but  no  campaigns 
can  be  successfully  carried  forward  by  guerrilla  war- 


Lifers  Supreme  Activities  519 

fare.  There  must  be  system,  cooperation,  direc- 
tion. In  an  army  there  is  support,  spirit,  enthusiasm 
in  massed  forces  which  does  not  exist  when  the 
soldiers  are  not  in  touch  with  each  other.  And  in 
the  Church  young  people  have  had  much  less  to  do 
in  the  employment  of  their  religious  activities  than 
was  needed  because  they  had  not  been  rallied  for 
cooperative  aggressive  movements. 

Second.  The  most  efficient  service  can  be  ren- 
dered by  us  in  advanced  years  only  when  we  have 
had  the  proper  training  in  youth  and  early  manhood. 
This  will  be  seen  without  much  discussion.  He  who 
commences  farming  only  after  reaching  years  of 
maturity,  who  has  not  become  familiar  with  the  art 
and  principles  of  agriculture  in  his  early  days,  finds 
himself  operating  at  a  decided  disadvantage.  Our 
agricultural  colleges  seek  to  prepare  young  men  for 
the  largest  industrial  success  by  training  them  in 
the  best  methods  in  use,  and  teaching  them  the  prin- 
ciples which  underlie  such  methods.  The  public 
schools  and  colleges  are  a  recognition  of  the  need  of 
mental  culture  before  the  grave  responsibilities  of 
special  vocations  are  assumed.  Religious  works  can- 
not be  entered  upon  at  too  early  an  age,  provided  it 
be  under  wise  supervision.  The  Church  is  most 
mighty  when  all  her  membership  is  employed,  the 
young  with  the  vivacity  and  energy  of  these  early 
years,  while  those  who  are  older  use  the  tact  and 
experience  gained  through  the  period  of  youth  up  to 
middle  life  or  old  age. 


520  Choosing  a  Lifework 

Third.  To  keep  the  young  from  being  led  away 
by  social  allurements,  to  keep  them  from  backsliding, 
they  should  be  set  at  work.  In  nothing  is  there 
more  of  peril  than  in  religious  indolence.  We  do 
not  mean  to  be  understood  as  intimating  that  passive 
morality  is  worse  than  actual  vice,  or  as  bad  as  actual 
vice.  The  young  Christian  is  but  little  liable  to 
plunge  directly  into  vicious  indulgences.  For  most 
persons  the  pole  and  the  equator  in  morals  are  some 
distance  apart,  and  the  intervening  space  is  traversed 
but  gradually.  The  young  convert,  feeling  the  glow 
of  his  new  and  ardent  life  awakened  in  some  warm 
revival  service,  soon  finds  that  the  religious  fervor, 
when  the  special  meetings  come  to  a  close,  gradually 
wanes.  His  enthusiasm  is  no  longer  kept  up  by 
fires  burning  brightly  about  him  in  the  Church. 
Left  largely  to  himself,  his  religious  ardor  dies  out, 
and  he  is  in  danger  of  a  complete  surrender  of  his 
faith.  There  is  one  safeguard,  perhaps  only  one, 
that  the  Church  can  supply,  and  that  is  that  he  be 
put  at  work  of  a  strictly  spiritual  character.  He 
who  is  working  earnestly  for  the  salvation  of  others 
will  not  turn  away  from  Christ.  The  grandest 
personality  in  human  history  is  the  apostle  Paul. 
He  was  ready  to  surrender  the  most  for  others;  he 
made  history  that  is  worthy  of  immortality;  he 
drank  very  deeply  from  the  wells  of  salvation;  his 
spirit  is  a  benison  of  good  to-day,  though  eighteen 
centuries  have  passed  since  his  translation.  After 
a  conversion  which  in  itself  was  remarkable,  and 


Life's  Supreme  Activities  221 

thorough  in  its  transforming  power,  he  entered  upon 
a  career  of  religious  activity  unparalleled,  perhaps,  in 
the  human  race.  As  we  read  the  story  of  his  in- 
defatigable labors  we  are  not  surprised  that  he  is  a 
man  of  mighty  faith.  He  did  not  have  time  to  be- 
come indifferent.  The  world  found  no  part  of  his 
being  where  it  could  gain  an  entrance.  He  kept  his 
zeal  all  aflame  by  his  untiring  efforts  in  teaching 
others  the  way  of  life.  To  become  rooted  and 
grounded  in  the  love  of  Christ  we  must  give  our  love 
for  souls  practical  employment  in  winning  them 
from  the  ways  of  death.  The  Church  should  not 
be  a  hospital  for  the  nursing  of  our  feeble  spiritual 
vitality,  but  an  army  where  every  member  is  a  soldier 
keeping  step  with  the  mighty  host  marching  on  to 
victory.  Every  day  there  should  be  battles  for  con- 
quest fought,  no  loitering  in  the  camp.  All  young 
converts  could  be  saved  if  they  lived  in  the  thick  of 
the  battle,  constantly  capturing  souls  from  the 
enemy's  ranks. 

Fourth.  Christian  young  people  can  reach  those 
whom  others  cannot  influence.  In  some  regards  the 
young  can  do  the  most  for  those  of  their  own  age. 
As  years  roll  over  us  we  forget  the  feelings  of  youth, 
losing  that  sympathetic  touch  which  wins.  Socially 
the  young  are  naturally  companionable;  they  most 
fully  understand  each  other,  and  between  them  there 
is  the  largest  measure  of  responsiveness.  No  better 
reason  than  this  could  be  adduced  for  organizing 
them  for  religious  work.     In  the  centuries  of  the 


222  Choosing  a  Lifework 

past  the  Church  has  been  much  less  mighty  than  it 
could  have  been  because  this  principle  was  not  re- 
garded. 

In  view  of  the  foregoing  considerations  we  urge 
all  pastors  and  the  older  members  of  the  Church  to 
give  an  active  support  to  young  people's  organiza- 
tions which  are  formed  for  religious  work.  And  we 
say  to  young  men  and  women  who  have  become 
church  members  that  your  own  spiritual  well-being 
and  the  advancement  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom 
will  be  greatly  promoted  by  consistent  cooperative 
labor  for  those  who  have  not  entered  upon  a  Chris- 
tian life.  This  is  divine  altruism.  A  dying  world 
needs  your  help,  not  in  fitful  acts  of  right  doing, 
but  in  systematic,  continuous,  and  united  striving  for 
the  rescue  of  those  who  are  perishing. 

We  would  not  utter  one  word  to  discourage  any 
young  man  or  woman  in  the  pursuit  of  earthly  good. 
We  would,  if  it  were  possible,  incite  to  greater  ac- 
tivity, and  arouse  to  a  mightier  purpose  to  get  the 
most  out  of  this  world  which  God  has  placed  us  here 
to  cultivate  and  govern. 

Under  the  conditions  in  which  the  human  family 
is  placed,  for  the  fullest  education  of  the  young  there 
must  be  a.  teaching  profession.  Parents  cannot 
spare  the  time,  even  if  they  have  the  ability,  to  im- 
part more  than  elementary  instruction.  To  reach 
the  highest  plane  in  this  profession  is  a  most  worthy 
ambition.  This  is  not  only  of  personal  interest, 
but  you  can  scarcely  be  true  to  the  powers  with 


Life's  Supreme  Activities  223 

which  the  Creator  has  blessed  you  without  striving 
for  it.  The  honor  is  worth  seeking,  of  standing  at 
the  head  in  this  great  profession.  You  will  thus 
exercise  a  wider  influence;  you  will  come  in  contact 
with  better  minds ;  loftier  truths  will  be  within  your 
reach,  and  with  your  more  distinguished  reputation 
will  be  associated  a  greater  power  for  good.  Strive 
to  be  the  most  learned  and  successful  teacher  of  the 
age  in  which  you  live. 

If  you  have  heard  the  summons,  ^^Go  forth  and 
preach  My  Gospel,''  be  not  content  to  remain  in  the 
humblest  position.  For  you  to  keep  at  the  foot  of 
the  list  proclaims  your  mental  incapacity  or  culpable 
indolence,  or  else  the  lack  of  a  sense  of  responsibility 
to  God,  who  thrusts  you  out  into  the  harvest.  Have 
you  a  right  to  be  less  than  a  great  preacher,  with  a 
vigorous  grasp  of  truth,  a  right  use  of  language  in 
the  portrayal  of  truth,  and  a  heart  full  of  yearning 
for  the  spiritual  enlightening  of  those  to  whom  you 
carry  the  message  of  the  Gospel  ?  He  is  entitled  to 
the  best  pulpit  who  is  the  strongest  preacher  and  the 
best  pastor — who  wields  the  widest  influence  for  the 
evangelization  of  the  people. 

In  this  world,  in  which  sickness  is  working  such 
sad  havoc  with  our  frail  physical  nature,  there  is 
need  of  the  most  skillful  medical  attendance.  In  the 
development  of  medical  science  there  are  many  dif- 
ficulties, and  it  is  but  rarely  that  any  member  of  the 
profession  rises  far  above  the  average  practitioner. 
Great  skill  is  the  product  only  of  long-continued  and 

15 


i^4  Choosing  a  Lifework: 

earnest  study  and  research,  and  largely  in  some 
special  lines.  The  physician  carries  the  life  of  the 
patient  in  his  hands.  He  has  no  right  to  spare  any 
pains  or  withhold  any  sacrifice  in  gaining  the 
mastery  over  disease.  To  become  an  eminent 
physician,  because  of  skill  gained,  is  an  honor  any- 
one may  well  covet.  This  requires  time,  study,  and 
experience,  with  quickness  of  intellectual  powers. 
He  who  earns  a  standing  above  his  fellow-practi- 
tioners deserves  the  fame  that  comes  to  him  from  a 
grateful  public,  and  it  is  not  sinful  in  him  to  take 
pleasure  in  the  meed  of  praise  bestowed. 

There  is  no  profession  in  which  ambition  is  more 
sure  to  find  a  lodgment  in  the  breast  than  the  legal. 
Here  man  measures  arms  with  his  fellow-man ;  here 
victory  utters  her  paeans  before  the  multitude,  and 
defeat  humiliates  the  spirit.  A  great  lawyer,  great 
because  of  legal  lore,  great  because  of  eloquence  that 
captivates  the  jury,  of  logic  which  sweeps  away  all 
opposition,  of  acuteness  of  thinking  which  penetrates 
to  the  very  heart  of  every  legal  problem,  must  occupy 
a  commanding  place  among  the  leading  jurists  of  the 
land.  It  is  not  strange  that  the  lawyer,  ever  in  the 
eye  of  the  public,  should  gain  an  overweening  desire 
to  make  a  brilliant  record.  Surrounded  by  such  a 
crowd  of  witnesses,  ambition  is  stimulated,  and  the 
favor  of  the  world  is  liable  to  become  an  object  of 
intense  desire.  But  no  man  at  the  bar  has  a  right 
to  fall  below  his  highest  capabilities.  To  wield  a 
power  that  few  possess  is  his  right,  if  his  arm  be 


Life's  Supreme  Activities  225 

mighty  enough  to  strike  the  blow,  and  he  may  well 
rejoice  in  the  praise  which  falls  upon  his  ear.  If 
a  jurist  at  all,  strive  to  lead  in  the  profession.  This 
is  not  dangerous  advice  so  long  as  conscience  keeps 
in  the  ascendant  and  right  does  not  lower  her 
standard. 

There  is  no  other  way  of  reaching  the  public  so 
widely  as  through  the  press.  The  newspaper,  the 
magazine,  the  printed  book,  read  in  thousands  of 
homes,  spreads  the  light  of  intelligence  over  all  these 
lands.  Mind  comes  in  contact  with  mind,  thought 
is  repeated  wherever  the  intellect  is  stirred,  and  the 
heart  pours  out  its  sympathies,  though  the  ear  cannot 
catch  the  sound  of  the  voice  that  comes  from  the 
heart  burdened  with  sorrow  or  glowing  with  joy. 
The  journalist  or  the  author  may  bid  defiance  to 
space  and  stir  the  very  heart  of  distant  countries, 
provided  he  handles  a  pen  from  which  come  forth 
mighty  thoughts,  and  responds  to  the  longings  of 
the  soul.  The  more  potent  the  press  the  grander 
our  civilization. 

While  there  is  government  there  must  be  politics. 
No  grander  mission  can  be  filled  by  any  individual 
than  that  by  the  learned,  broad-minded,  and  patri- 
otic statesman  who  holds  office  as  a  trust,  who  puts 
country  before  party,  who  seeks  personal  good  in  the 
welfare  of  the  state.  Lifelong  study  to  serve  the 
nation  should  have  its  reward. 

God  has  given  us  this  world  to  be  cultivated  an3 
enriched  by  human  labor  and  thought.  Forests  have 


226  Choosing  a  Lifework 

been  swept  away;  fields  have  been  tilled;  the  depths 
of  the  earth  have  been  explored;  machinery  has  been 
invented  to  multiply  our  power;  cities  have  been 
built ;  railroads  and  steamships  constructed  for  travel 
and  to  transport  the  products  of  our  labor ;  the  ocean 
is  covered  with  commerce,  and  industrially  all  lands 
have  clasped  hands  so  that  each  helps  every  other. 
Man  has  made  the  wealth  of  the  nations,  and  that 
which  he  has  done  is  a  prophecy  of  that  which  will 
be  greater  and  more  glorious  in  the  future.  Liter- 
ally, "the  desert  shall  yet  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the 
rose."  How  much  man  has  done!  How  much  he 
is  still  capable  of  doing !  Let  the  work  of  progress 
still  go  on,  even  at  an  accelerated  pace,  that  in  every 
interest  the  blessings  of  our  temporal  life  may  be- 
come immeasurably  multiplied. 

While  we  look  for  all  this,  and  work  for  it,  a 
brighter  vision  still  gleams  out  from  the  future. 
This  world,  which  has  been  redeemed  by  the  Son  of 
God,  will  yet  be  saved.  The  banner  of  Immanuel 
will  float  from  every  hilltop,  and  the  shout  of  victory 
be  the  universal  cry  of  the  continents  and  islands 
of  the  sea.  To  bring  this  to  pass  is  the  supreme 
work  of  the  ages.  Eradicating  vice,  overthrowing 
all  criminal  propensities,  rendering  our  jails 
and  prisons  useless,  converting  the  world  into 
a  community  from  which  sin  and  unright- 
eousness have  been  forever  banished — such  is 
the  promise  which  meets  our  gaze  in  Christ,  the 
Leader  of  all  the  forces  of  right.     We  have  been 


Life's  Supreme  Activities  227 

raised  to  be  the  great  army  battling  against  the  evil 
one,  the  young  and  the  old  organized  for  this  de- 
termined warfare  and  pushing  onward  till  every 
rebel  yields!  Thus  God  rules  and  earth  becomes 
heaven.  The  activities  which  accomplish  these  mar- 
velous results  we  may  well  call  supreme. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY 

Return  to  desk  from  which  borrowed. 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


DEC   3   1947 

3May'49PA 

''    I0Dec'55Lr 

N0V2  6  1955LL? 


LD  21-100m-9/47(A5702sl6)476 


■i^%'mwwn\m^wwit^^'i!'-'i-' 


s.)ijh  lii  io^. 


YB  0596! 


308474 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


